Self doubts: How to overcome the impostor syndrome

I have been working as a freelance writer for more than five years now and you wouldn’t believe the number of times I stopped myself before I mentioned that on my about me page. Yes the scary impostor syndrome is much more common than we like to acknowledge. And that’s exactly why we are talking about how to deal with the impostor syndrome and how to overcome it.

How often do you get self doubts? What are your ideas to overcome the impostor syndrome? Do you believe in fake it till you make it? Let us chat. Click To Tweet

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How to overcome the impostor syndrome

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Well, when I spoke about this impostor syndrome to some of my friends who are in the similar profession as mine, I was shocked to understand that they shared the same worries as I did. At least once a week, I contemplate if I am a fraud, an impostor, trying to show off as someone who is knowledgeable than she is actually.

And these are some of the things that actually work for me, and may do for you too.

Collect your positive experiences

Every time I publish a blog post a moment of self doubt creeps in. Why would anyone want to read my ideas “to be more productive” or “how to get more comments on my blog“?

And without a beat, I read some of the comments and engagement I received on my blog posts to remind myself that there are indeed people who want me to talk about it.

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Reminding yourself of your past positive experiences and appreciations will help in defeating the impostor syndrome and other self doubts.

Know Your feelings

Your emotions including mood swings matter. Understand why you are feeling the way you are and what triggered you. Are you comparing yourself to that person? Did you meet someone who make you trigger the impostor syndrome?

Spend sometime to objective understand what your triggers and warnings are. Knowing the cause and effect might help you avoid those pitfalls or even use them as a motivation.

Perfectionism Kills

If you are a perfectionist, impostor syndrome might be a common occurrence for you.

You are probably setting your expectations far too high than the standards, and consequently setting yourself for failure right away. And if and when you fail, it inevitably leads to shame and guilt.

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As a self-sabotaging perfectionist you are focusing on your mistakes and shortfalls, instead of your positives. Curbing the desire to be perfectionist is a good way to overcome the impostor syndrome.

Avoid negative self-talk

Boost your confidence and esteem by curbing your negativity towards yourself. Often these self talks sow the seeds for the impostor syndrome that you are trying to overcome.

Visualize your success and benefits every time you have self doubts. Stop attributing to your success sheer luck or hard work, but accept that you did well because you are talented.

Reframe your thoughts and emotions to rein in your self doubts and channel them towards doing better.

Take the bull by the horns

That brings us the next point.

impostor syndrome is usually accompanied by the fear of being discovered as a fraud by others. What if someone finds that I am not good enough? How long till they figure out? These fears and insecurities impact the future performances and becomes a vicious cycle.

Instead take action to overcome the impostor syndrome by constantly increasing your knowledge and increasing your productivity. Focus on sharing these knowledge with your peers and consistently work on being valuable to the team and your clients.

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Take actions towards reducing those insecurities instead of letting them affect you.

Start a conversation

Reach out to someone whom you trust, like a friend or colleague and understand if they can relate to your feelings. Build some support system where you can share your experiences and insecurities and try to deal with the impostor syndrome.

Hearing reassuring and encouraging words from others might dissuade your self doubts. And it may not come as a surprise that women are more prone to self doubts and it is harder for us to overcome the impostor syndrome.

Fake it till you make it

Sometimes we fail and there will be things that we do not know. But that is what we are here for – to learn and grow. A few losses do not make someone a bad athlete or a bad businessman.

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So the next time you hit by a wave of self doubt, fake the courage and confidence that you aren’t feeling at that moment and dive through it. If you win, you would know that you are capable of doing it. And if you don’t, you will learn how to do it.

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Let’s talk

How often do you get self doubts? What are your ideas to overcome the impostor syndrome? Do you believe in fake it till you make it? Let us chat.

2 Comments

  1. Stella

    I love this advice. It is spot on. I just recently started my blog and battling this all the time. I have learned that putting myself out there and overcoming my fears of being judged or criticized really helps with overcoming the impostor syndrome. So yes, fake it till you make it (internally!)

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      YES. That really works for everything, nearly

      Reply

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Gayathri

Gayathri

Gayathri has been reviewing books since 2010. When she is not reading books or creating online content, she works as a writer and a digital marketer. Head over to meet me!