Impostor syndrome is not a rare phenomenon: you try hard, prepare well, succeed – and still feel like an imposter. We’ll explain how to overcome the fear of not being good enough.
“Impostor” comes from the English word for imposter, fraudster, or con artist. The word describes people who pretend to be more successful, wealthy, or have a higher social status than they actually have. They pretend to be something they are not in order to be successful – and this is usually done intentionally.
And then there are people who always feel like impostors. People who believe that their own success is just coincidence or luck – and who live in constant fear that everyone else around them will find out at some point.
This type of self-doubt has a name: impostor syndrome. It is not a mental illness with an exact diagnosis or a real syndrome in the scientific sense, but rather a personal experience or a condition in life. The word syndrome should therefore always be in quotation marks. For the sake of readability, however, we will refrain from doing so in this article.
You may be able to identify the phenomenon in yourself by simply asking yourself the question: How do you feel when you succeed? Do you feel happy, does your success give you confidence – or does the opposite happen? Do you feel even more pressured, afraid that someone might find out that you were ‘just lucky’? If the latter is the case, it could be that you too are struggling with impostor syndrome in your life.
What are the consequences of impostor syndrome?
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Imposter syndrome is also accompanied by a fear of the future, which stems from the thought: “Next time I will definitely not be so lucky.” Those affected are hyperaware of their own weaknesses and significantly overestimate the strengths and abilities of the people around them.
The self-doubts that accompany the impostor syndrome are diverse. They manifest themselves, for example, in these and similar thought patterns:
- “Whatever I can do, everyone else can do too.”
- “It was just a coincidence or someone made a mistake, that’s the only reason I’m successful.”
- “Hopefully the others don’t notice that I can’t do anything and that I’m just making up stories.”
- “I pretend all the time.”
- “I did not deserve that.”
People with imposter syndrome often feel unable to cope with new tasks. According to an article in the MinD magazine by Mensa in Deutschland e. V., this is precisely what gets them into a vicious circle: those who see themselves as imposters are always looking for new confirmation from outside and therefore try to move up and be more successful. But when those affected succeed in doing this, they feel like imposters again and again and attribute their success to chance, good relationships or something similar. They therefore continue to look for new confirmation, perhaps succeed again, and so it goes on.
How people with impostor syndrome react to a situation can be divided into two categories: overdoing and underdoing:
- Overdoing means that the person concerned prepares to perfection, working on the smallest detail.
- Underdoing, on the other hand, means putting off upcoming exams or similar until the last minute, focusing on other things and preparing little or not at all. If they fail, underdoers can justify themselves by saying that they couldn’t have done better – after all, they weren’t prepared well enough.
Who is affected?
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According to MinD, impostor syndrome is often observed in women because they struggle with thoughts such as: “They only hired me because of the female quota” or: “A man would have been subject to much higher demands.” Added to this is the perceived pressure to represent one’s own group in a dignified manner: As a woman, the affected person feels that she is in the spotlight on behalf of all women – and if a career woman fails, then this reflects on all other women, or so the thinking behind it.
Read more: “Women have to be very careful about whether and how they express anger”: Work psychologist on anger at work
However, this also applies to other groups in society. There are no clear studies on whether women actually struggle with imposter syndrome more often. It is possible that the proportion of women seems to be higher because women are more likely to dare to talk about it. Recent research suggests that the phenomenon affects men and women in roughly equal proportions.
Scientists also believe there is a possible connection between discrimination and impostor syndrome, according to an article in Die Zeit: Those who already have little confidence in their own abilities quickly feel that it was all just luck when they are successful. This is particularly common among social minorities.
Overall, however, many personality factors play a role. For example, introverted people are more likely to be affected, as are people with unsupportive families or many conflicts in the family environment. People who are very anxious or easily embarrassed also tend to have imposter feelings. The same applies to those who have only been successful for a long time – for example at school – and are then suddenly confronted with greater challenges.
Often, the impostor syndrome only occurs in a certain situation that one does not feel up to: up to seventy percent of people report impostor feelings in certain situations.
“I can never be completely myself”: Many feel like impostors in private
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Imposter syndrome can also occur in contact with friends: namely, when you have the feeling that you are playing a role and are not being yourself when dealing with other people.
And this brings with it self-doubt: you think that other people don’t really know you and that they probably wouldn’t like the person you think you are. A person with imposter syndrome often suffers from the feeling of not being able to be themselves and always having to pretend.
How to overcome impostor syndrome?
The good news right from the start: The first step to overcoming this hurdle is to realize that it exists. Then you should learn not to attribute your success to a lucky coincidence, but to yourself and your own achievements.
Working on your own self-esteem can also help you overcome impostor syndrome. Sabine Magnet is the author of the book “And what if everyone notices that I can’t do anything? About the fear of not being good enough. The impostor phenomenon.” In an interview with Der Spiegel, she suggests three tried and tested exercises that can help you overcome impostor syndrome:
- Keep a success diary. Every day, write down the small or large successes you have achieved today. This strengthens your awareness of having achieved these things with the help of your own abilities.
- According to Sabine Magnet, strengthening self-love is also a good strategy to get rid of the impostor syndrome.
- And finally, she recommends a gratitude ritual. For example, you can practice gratitude by regularly writing down several things you are grateful for. Grateful people have a more positive view of the world overall.
Note: If you are increasingly suffering from self-doubt, you should consider seeking professional psychological help.
Read more on Techzle\.com:
- Perfectionism – how high demands do not become a problem
- Resolve inner blockages – in 3 simple steps
- Lack of concentration: causes and what helps
English version available: 8 Ways to Overcome Imposter Syndrome & Unlock Creativity
Edited by Denise Schmucker
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