Imposter Syndrome – The Real Deal
- Jun 7, 2022
- 7 min read
Written by: Sonya Furlong, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Summed up as feeling ‘inadequate, incompetent, like you don’t belong or are a fraud’, imposter syndrome affects more people than you probably realize.
When you’re suffering from imposter syndrome you might believe that you’re the only imposter around and before long everyone will uncover just what a fraud you really are. When in actual fact, there are likely to be other ‘imposters’ sharing your same workplace, gym, school, social circle, etc., all carrying that same fear of ‘being found out.
You might be surprised to learn that the types of people who have suffered imposter syndrome range from the young and inexperienced through to high corporate CEOs and even the rich and famous.
Imposter syndrome doesn’t discriminate; it doesn’t reserve itself only for the minorities. Although, research does suggest that imposter feelings have a tendency to show up more commonly in women and people of color or racial minorities.
Feeling misunderstood and marginalized, "I'm a woman in a man's world", is just one example of how gender bias can play a factor in feeling that you don’t belong, or that you have to work harder or be more dedicated in order to earn well-deserved recognition.
However, it’s important to note here that imposter syndrome is born from within; put simply, it’s your personal perception of your own unworthiness. Despite whatever success you may have achieved, or how others praise you, you’re unable to genuinely believe that you deserve it.
How Imposter Syndrome Feels
Imposter syndrome will have you feeling guilty about being in the group or position that you are in. You live in fear of being found out and suffer anxiety and stress because of it; you honestly don’t believe you belong and worry about what might happen when you’re found out.
You may experience thoughts such as:
Everyone is better than I am
I don't belong here
I'm a fraud
Someone will find out that I don’t know what I'm doing
I can’t do this, I shouldn’t be here
They know I’m faking it
Even in circumstances where you receive praise or recognition, you’re unable to accept it or believe that you deserve it. You brush it off like it was a stroke of good luck and go on believing that you’re tricking everyone. You continue to perceive yourself as a fraud.
In your attempt to conceal the truth from others you aim for perfection in everything you do. Subsequently, you find yourself with no boundaries and you give away your personal power by working too hard, overcommitting, and overcompensating in order to please others. Eventually, everything you do is done to please others and hide the real you.
The sad truth is that living like this only leads to fatigue, overwhelm, and burnout. The more you try to hide the more you feel alone and unsupported. You become unclear on what you really want or how to move forward. You may become so disillusioned by life that you don’t believe you can do anything that you really want to do.
Until you can reclaim your self-belief this toxic cycle will continue until you completely burn out.
Underlying Causes Of Imposter Syndrome
As imposter syndrome is due to one’s own feelings, self-belief and perception there is no one cause. Imposter syndrome is likely to be caused by one, or a combination of, factors that trigger the feeling of being an imposter.
In a positive sense (yes, believe it or not, it can be a positive thing) imposter syndrome can be caused by being pushed outside of your comfort zone. Like when you’ve been given a promotion or started your first job, maybe you bought your first home or were asked to speak in front of a group of people. Any of these situations can spark imposter syndrome to show its face.
Usually, however, in the above examples, it’s just nerves and you adjust to the situation accordingly with a healthy and positive mindset. You grow and realize you can do it and you find your self-belief and accept the situation for what it is.
Other underlying causes may not be so positive. Some triggers could come from your childhood or upbringing. If you were raised to be an over-achiever, were constantly compared to others, highly criticized, or under constant scrutiny, you may question your success or whether you've ever been really good enough, regardless of your achievements. You may find yourself never achieving your full potential because of your inability to accept yourself. Or you could exist in a heightened state of stress caused by imposter feelings in almost everything you do.
Personality traits such as natural mindset and self-esteem will also affect how you react to wins, success, and achievements. If you’re predisposed to low self-esteem believing yourself to be a loser, no-good or stupid you may have the tendency to lean on your imposter syndrome. Without even realizing it, your own lack of self-worth drives the imposter feelings and you almost expect to feel like that because you can’t believe anything positive about yourself.
What You Can Do About It
Thankfully, there are solutions that are readily available and suitable for different types of personalities. A one-or-all approach is worth considering if you want to put your imposter syndrome to bed.
1. Meditation and Breathwork
Imposter syndrome is mainly driven by anxiety. Anxiety, fear, and worry are what make you feel so ill and uncomfortable about the situation. One of the simplest and best methods for reducing anxiety is to focus on slowing down, being present, being mindful, and grounding yourself.
Meditation and breathwork are hugely successful in reducing any type of anxiety. Slowing down your mind and your breath immediately reduces the feelings of stress and anxiety on a physical level.
These days you can attend a class, buy audio recordings, join online groups, and even tap into YouTube or Spotify for meditation tracks. It doesn’t have to be expensive or hard to fit in and the benefits are immediate and very effective in reducing anxiety and stilling the negative imposter voice.
2. Daily Affirmations and Visualisation
Daily affirmations and visualizations are another simple, accessible, and affordable solution. Working with your mind to program positive and healthy thoughts, feelings and behaviors will allow you to improve your mindset allowing space for an improved relationship with your most important person – you.
3. Power Posing
Amy Cuddy, who delivered a Ted Talk in 2012, talks about the importance of non-verbal expressions of power and dominance i.e., body language and movement. After her own imposter syndrome experience, she went on to investigate whether you can ‘fake it till you make it’ by studying whether using your own non-verbal expression of power can make you feel more powerful.
She found that the hormone testosterone is higher in people of more power and cortisol, the stress hormone is lower. Interestingly, by your body secreting the right hormones you naturally feel more powerful.
Amy and her colleagues went on to study and trial what they call ‘power poses’. Power poses are simply ways of standing or sitting in poses that are powerful in terms of body language; think of someone crossing the finish line, a person in charge leading their team, or a world leader giving a speech.
When you purposefully adopt a power pose your body secretes the right mix of chemicals, hormones, and endorphins and you feel more powerful within. And when you feel more powerful your self-belief rises; you begin to feel like you’re actually worth it. In fact, Amy went so far as to say that when you use power poses not only can you ‘fake it till you make it but you can ‘fake it till you become it’.
So, strike a power pose, hold it for a couple of minutes, do this regularly and feel how your personal power grows and your imposter syndrome shrinks.
4. Work with a Life Coach
A life coach has various tools to help you release, let go of, and overcome self-sabotage and limiting beliefs.
Self-sabotage is particularly difficult to overcome on your own. It’s often not something easily recognized in yourself, let alone identified and addressed. A life coach will spot thoughts, language, and behaviors that point to limited mindset or self-sabotage patterns.
A life coach can also help you work through how to clarify your wants and needs, communicate effectively and appreciate who you are and what you have as an individual.
With support and guidance on how to overcome self-limitation imposter syndrome will no longer get the better of you.
The Real Deal
At the end of the day, most people experience imposter syndrome at least once in their lifetime. If you find yourself unable to release the feeling and end up living your days in fear of being ‘found out’ get help.
Don’t ignore it, don’t try to hide it. Take action and learn to overcome your own limitation, build up your own self-belief or fake it till you become it.
Sonya Furlong, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Sonya Furlong, based in Sydney Australia, is a Certified Trainer of NLP and Matrix Therapies, Life Coach, Therapist, Meditation Teacher, and Devotional Singer. After battling depression as a teenager Sonya discovered meditation and it literally saved her life. In her late 20s she was introduced to personal development and using the principles of success she learned through her studies, went on to a successful career in the film industry, culminating in winning the Australian Academy Award. Sonya wanted to use her powers to help humanity and dedicated her life to the study and teaching of personal and professional development. Sonya believes everyone can live a happier, more fulfilling life, no matter what has happened to them in the past. Sonya runs the Centre for Life Therapies, an online wellness hub that offers transformational healing through pieces of training, group coaching, and private sessions.
