It finally happened! You got that dream job you always hoped for and are excited to start your new career. Everything is going swimmingly and you feel great, right!? Right...? Wait... you don't feel great? You feel anxious and undeserving of this new position? You feel that it might actually be a big mistake that you landed this job and you are severely unqualified? Sounds like you are dealing with imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is the psychological phenomenon of feeling as though you are unqualified or underserving of your success. You may feel like a fraud or that you achieved your position in life by sheer luck. For a new, young professional, this feeling may be all too familiar. Stop living your life feeling like a fraud! Learning what causes imposter syndrome and what you can do to manage it will get you back to being (and believing in!) that successful, high achiever you are!
Where Does Imposter Syndrome Come From?
1) Negative Self-talk
How you think of yourself is how you believe others think of you. Often, you are your own worst critic. You have a front row seat to all of your mistakes, embarrassments, and insecurities. This intimate knowledge of your shortcomings can sometimes lead to negative self-talk. If you make a mistake, you might criticize or judge yourself instantly for doing so. You may use such language as "I'm an idiot" or "I can't believe I did that" or perhaps something even more creative (and unkind!). This kind of self-talk can destroy your self-confidence and even lead to self-resentment. This negative self-image then gets projected on to others. You see yourself as a failure or a mess-up and you think others are seeing the same thing.
In you professional life, you may be thinking to yourself that you do not know what you are doing or that you feel like you may not have many of the answers that people expect from you. This is where imposter syndrome comes into play. This view you have of yourself then gets projected on to everyone you work with. You think to yourself "I don't know what I'm doing and it is only a matter of time before everyone catches on". The first step in defeating imposter syndrome is to conquer your self-talk. You see the perspectives of others through your own eyes. Imagine how different things would be if you told yourself constantly "I am competent" or "I am good at my job". Suddenly, you would think of your co-workers as respecting you, or that you are both equals. Now of course, this sounds much easier in theory than it is in practice. Often, you learn how to talk to yourself based on how others talked to you growing up (most notably your parents). If you come from an environment that was not supportive, or where you heard criticisms daily, it may be hard to even tell yourself something nice - let alone believe others are capable of giving encouragement. This is where therapy can be helpful! Together, we can dismantle this pattern and learn how to adopt a healthier internal dialogue.
2) External Locus of Control
Another belief contributing to imposter syndrome may be having an external locus of control. A locus of control is what you believe influences your life outcomes. This may be either internal, or in the case of imposter syndrome, external. A person with an internal locus of control believes that they are the driving force of what happens to them in life. Good or bad, the outcomes in their life are influenced by their choices and abilities. Those with an external locus of control, however, believe that most of what happens to them is by chance or due to forces outside of their control. You may begin to see how this is related to imposter syndrome. Those with an internal locus of control are less likely to experience imposter syndrome because they believe their success is a direct result of their skills and hard-work. Those with an external locus of control may believe that their success is due to luck, timing, or the result of somebody's generosity. In therapy, we can work together to shift towards an internal locus of control by identifying your influence on life outcomes. Often, you have much more say in what happens than you may think. Let's utilize your power together and create the outcomes you want to see happen!
3) Anxiety
Finally, and this may come as no shock to you, anxiety may be playing a part in causing your imposter syndrome. Anxiety can often prompt thoughts that are not true, such as you are unqualified or undeserving for your job. Even worse than that, it can trigger physical responses and emotions that make it hard to function. The anxiety from your imposter syndrome may be manifesting in your body, such as trouble sleeping, headaches, tension, sweating, ruminating (constant thinking) or stomach problems. Anxiety is a vicious cycle. It may tell you that you are bad at your job, which causes stress and anxiety. This stress and anxiety then causes some of the symptoms listed above. These symptoms then actually make it hard to perform your duties at work, further feeding into the idea that you are not good at your job. I specialize in the treatment of anxiety through the use of CBT techniques. Together, we will challenge these errors in thinking and come up with strategies to manage anxiety and stop the spiral.
YOU CAN DO THIS!
Stop letting imposter syndrome diminish your success! By tackling the issues contributing to imposter syndrome, you can get back to being happy, successful, and confident in yourself! Don't feel like you have to go about it on your own. I am happy to help assist you on the journey to become the best version of you! YOU GOT THIS!
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