Do you suffer from Imposter Syndrome?
I recently came through this topic when I went to an event through meetup.com. Now I feel that this is really a problem in all societies and no one talks about this.
According to Wikipedia’s definition for Imposter syndrome:
“Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostorism, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in which one doubts one’s accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud. Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon remain convinced that they are frauds, and do not deserve all they have achieved.”
Meaning of Imposter:
“A person who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive others.”
Meaning of Syndrome:
“A syndrome is a set of medical signs and symptoms which are correlated with each other and often associated with a particular disease or disorder.”
Imposter syndrome is the belief that deep down, you are a fraud, that you shouldn’t be here, and that one day everyone will wake up and realize it. The funny thing about it is it tends to get worse, not better, as bigger opportunities and successes come our way.
Too Many definitions? Right? Let me go into some detail with my own example.
Once I had to speak/give a presentation in front of people full of one big room. I was thinking that why I am nervous? Maybe because I am standing in front of too many people or talking to too many people or presenting my ideas. Actually, I was nervous because I am afraid that I will be exposed or I will be judged or maybe people know more than I know.
Imposter syndrome can simply be a lack of self-confidence. According to a large survey on this topic; nearly 58% of people in the IT industry feel that they are the victim of this. This is a high number and we should work on this.
“Imposter syndrome is not the problem — toxic workplaces are.”
How to beat the imposter syndrome?
Remember: You will never be where you are today.
Imposters are liars, bent on tricking others and profiting from that deceit. That’s not you. You’re just trying to do good work, and the effort to create something new sometimes always inspires uncertainty. If you occasionally doubt yourself, take it as a sign that you’re one of the good ones. Every well-meaning person who is pursuing something that matters to them feels as though they don’t belong some of the time.
