How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome

Why everyone gets imposter syndrome

You likely understand the concept of imposter syndrome already — even if you can’t define it.

Originally coined “imposter phenomenon” in the 1970s, this term was used to describe the inability of high-achieving individuals to accept their success due to feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt.

But according to Jake, imposter syndrome is more commonly recognized by how it feels, not what it means.

“Sometimes clients will describe symptoms that resemble it, but they almost never name it,” Jake explains. “It will come across with descriptions like: ‘I am feeling overwhelmed with what I am supposed to do,’ or ‘I feel so much pressure to be this person, but I don’t feel like it is me.’”

How fear and perception shape imposter syndrome

Deeply rooted in imposter syndrome is the fear that everyone else can see what you feel you don’t have.

That was the case for Jake when she decided to pursue entrepreneurship. “I started dreaming up businesses [when] I was in my early 20s,” she shares. “But I didn’t have a lot of mentors around me.”

So, Jake began taking courses to prepare her for what it would take to build a business — only, it didn’t help her confidence. Thoughts like ‘I don’t have the smarts to be a business owner’ or ‘I can’t organize my thoughts well enough to be successful’ continued to plague her.

“I could name all the things that a business owner needs to have to succeed that I didn’t have,” she tells me.

“Sometimes, imposter syndrome drives us to work twice as hard. Other times, it leads us to hide from responsibility through procrastination,” Jake notes. “If we avoid the work, we think we can avoid accountability — both to ourselves and to others.”

“This fear of failure, or of being ‘found out’ as inadequate, fuels either our drive to overachieve or our tendency to procrastinate.”

Imposter syndrome may be triggered by how you believe others see you, but at its core it’s a reflection of how you see yourself. The belief is that even if others think you’re entirely capable, you think you’re not — and that no one has recognized it yet.

Jake explains this train of thought: “If you really saw who I was, then you wouldn’t ask me to do this project, to fill this role, to do this job.”

Your environment can impact feelings of self-doubt

Jake’s experience of imposter syndrome came from fundamental beliefs about herself she’d felt since childhood. But that’s not always the case.

Sometimes, what we call imposter syndrome can arise from being put in a specific situation or environment — fueled by discrimination, stereotyping, and competition that creates a sense of scarcity, leaving people to wonder if they’re good enough.

This could look like:

• You’re the only minority on the team where you’re feeling “othered.”
• You work in a competitive environment, where your work is directly compared to your coworkers’.
• You and someone else get hired for the same role, but their work style is completely different than yours — triggering feelings of self-doubt in your abilities.

This is why Jake suggests exploring whether your feelings are a core belief that you’re looking to confirm, or simply a logical reaction to your environment. If the feeling is following you wherever you go, whether it’s taking a course or starting a new job, that’s a likely sign you’re dealing with a core belief.

Dealing with imposter syndrome — the box journaling way

Because imposter syndrome is often unconscious, getting down to the root of it requires a little digging.

“You might say, ‘Well, how can you hide something from yourself?’” Jake muses. But it’s easier than you’d think to distract ourselves.

If you have all the credentials you need, and you still don’t feel confident, instead of investigating that feeling, you might go out and get another degree. “We just stay busy,” she shares.

In her experience as a psychotherapist, Jake says that to address the problem, “we have to get to the parts of shame — those parts that you don’t want to reveal to anyone, you don’t want to dwell on, and you definitely don’t want to admit to yourself.”

One of the most successful methods she’s found for that is box journaling.

With this exercise, you’re guided to sort out feelings from thoughts by putting them in different boxes. So, for example, when it comes to imposter syndrome, you might identify emotions like fear and inadequacy in the feeling box, while in the thinking box, you might unpack your deeper beliefs, such as the idea of not being competent enough for your role.

In unpacking those thoughts and feelings, you might come to a heavy headspace. “It’s not easy, especially if it’s such a difficult place that you don’t ever want to go,” Jake tells me. “So we don’t want to leave ourselves there. We have to find the voice of compassion.”

This is when you move to the compassion box, where you reframe your struggles and self-critical beliefs with kindness.

Finally, you have the creativity box, which “brings all of [your reflection] together in a different part of your brain, not so much cognition,” says Jake. By drawing whatever comes to mind, you can observe how these thoughts and feelings translate into art.

“Box journaling goes back to honoring our unique journey, perspective, and backgrounds,” she explains. “My path may not be the same as yours.”

“It’s about creating breathing room for creative approaches to problem-solving our life.”

You can find Jake Joy at jakejoy.ca

Are you an imposter, or are you just trying something new?

Melody Taylor has spent more than two years guiding Jane’s leadership team as a Growth & Development Coach. A big part of her role is getting into the minds of business owners — and what she’s found across many professions is that, in building a business, it’s inevitable to encounter aspects that are completely new to you.

And new can be scary.

For practitioners, a major culprit for imposter syndrome is around marketing yourself and growing your businesses — which, for many people, means transitioning from doing the work, to having to spread the word to a wider audience.

“It’s just the natural feeling of, ‘Wow, I’m a master here. [But] I’m a novice here,’” says Melody. It might feel easy to talk about your work with the clients who have been coming in for years. But sharing your expertise with new faces? That can be nerve-wracking. You’re stepping into the spotlight in front of people who don’t know you or what you have to offer yet, and saying ‘Trust me, I’m good!’

In those cases, people tend to avoid self-promotion because it feels uncomfortable or arrogant to toot their own horn. “I think it has a lot to do with being humble,” Melody suggests.

But being too humble can get in the way of growing your business.

If you “swing the pendulum too far the opposite way,” as she puts it, you’re essentially “robbing potential customers of the opportunity to experience your value.”

Because of this, Melody wonders how often a feeling of discomfort is being mislabeled as imposter syndrome. And, more than anything, she wants us to change our relationship with discomfort.

Why it's okay to be uncomfortable

Melody shares her hunch that the feelings we relate to imposter syndrome might be a method our brain uses to cope with new challenges — almost like a way of protecting ourselves.

This reaction can kick in when we feel in over our heads in new roles or settings, making our brain yell “retreat!” by convincing us that we’re not really up to the task.

“We put little unconscious barriers in front of ourselves, particularly when we’re moving into territory that is uncomfortable,” Melody adds.

The first step is acknowledging that “[this feeling] is there for a reason, and it’s trying to help,” she says. The second step is challenging it. Melody often encourages the people she’s coaching to ask themselves: how true is this?

If there is something they feel they’re not doing well enough, Melody gets them to map it out. They take a look at where they want to be, and then jot down all the things they need to get there.

This mapping exercise can help people realize what they’re feeling and fearing is not accurate. Melody chuckles as she tells me that sometimes when she’s working with someone to map out their goals, they realize they’re already well on their way.

But this exercise could just easily make it clear that they’re actually not there yet, and that a little more experience or knowledge is needed. And that’s not such a bad thing.

Melody reminds me that it can be helpful to validate the feelings of ‘I don’t know what I’m doing,’ because they don’t — yet. And now they’ve just mapped out everything they need to get there.

Either way, this helps folks get down to the root cause of their personal experience with these feelings — something both Melody and Jake see as a crucial step in overcoming imposter syndrome.

For something as universally experienced as imposter syndrome, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. But, I’m reminded in these conversations, there are some gentle steps you can take to loosen its hold on you. With some curiosity and self-reflection, imposter syndrome is something that can be overcome.

Want more insights to help you succeed in your clinic? 🙌🏼

You can read more expert perspectives on all things clinic life in the pages of Front Desk magazine (this article originally appeared in volume 4).

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