How to Overcome Impostor Syndrome (And Start Believing in Yourself)

If you’ve ever felt like you’re not as capable as other people think you are, you’re not alone.

Many people with impostor syndrome live with a persistent fear of being “found out”, despite evidence that they are capable, competent and successful.

The problem is not usually a lack of ability.

It’s the habit of dismissing strengths, doubting achievements and focusing excessively on perceived shortcomings.

This article explores some practical ways to overcome impostor syndrome and build a more balanced view of yourself.

You may also find the Confidence & Self-Esteem Hub helpful, which brings together articles on self-doubt, low confidence, fear of judgement and impostor syndrome.

 

Quick Summary

• Impostor syndrome causes people to underestimate their abilities and achievements.

• Many people dismiss praise while focusing on mistakes.

• Anxiety, perfectionism and self-doubt often contribute.

• Learning to challenge thinking patterns can reduce impostor syndrome.

• Confidence often improves as self-criticism decreases.

 

Impostor Syndrome

Recently I’ve been working with a number of people who, as part of their self-doubt, anxiety and stress, are struggling with impostor syndrome.

Impostor syndrome leads to you feeling like a bit of a fraud in what you are doing at work or another aspect of life, like at some point you expect to get found out and that others will finally discover that you aren’t up to the job and that you’ve somehow just been getting away with things. You doubt your own skills, capabilities, accomplishments and achievements and you live with a fear of being found out.

Now, this worry, self-doubt and fear will continue even where you can point to a long list of achievements. You may put your successes down to luck or chance, or that others didn’t notice the flaws in what you did (which can contribute to elements of perfectionism). When you receive positive feedback you probably don’t internalise it and feel good, but rather think it’s well-meaning but false.

And, of course, the more you achieve and the greater your responsibilities, the more there is to lose and the greater your fear of failure and of being uncovered for the fraud you think you really are.

No matter what positive feedback comes your way, how well others may say you do or how objectively visible your accomplishments are, that perception that you aren’t as good as they think lingers on. It leads to self-criticism, putting pressure on yourself, fear of failure, perfectionism, anxiety, fear and doubt.

By it’s very definition it’s a false perception of your own skills and capabilities. No matter how much praise you receive or how well things go, it doesn’t stop that feeling of fear of failure and the fear of exposure as a fraud.

 

Real Client Experiences

Many of the confidence and anxiety clients I work with describe thoughts very similar to impostor syndrome.

Despite being capable, respected and successful, they often feel like they are somehow falling short.

You can read some of their experiences here:

• Confidence and Self-Doubt Case Study
• Confidence and Creative Block Case Study
• Self-Confidence Improvement Case Study
• Overcoming Limiting Confidence Barriers Case Study
• Overcoming Bullying, Low Confidence and Self-Doubt Case Study

You can also explore more hypnotherapy reviews here: Hypnotherapy Reviews

 

Why People With Impostor Syndrome Struggle to Accept Praise

Impostor syndrome then is, therefore, a false perception of your own capability. You discount what you do positively and elevate perceived negatives. It’s a kind of cognitive distortion where negative evaluations towards yourself and of what you do are readily accepted, whilst positive feedback and successes are discounted. No matter what you achieve, and how successful your performance at something, you continue to doubt yourself and to put it all down to luck and chance.

This tendency was highlighted in a recent study. In the study, (Brauer and Proyer, 2022), participants took part in numerical and verbal intelligence tasks. They were then given positive feedback irrespective of their actual performance in the tasks. As expected, people with impostor syndrome discounted their successes and attributed their performance to chance and luck. In their perception of their performance they dismissed their own ability or other internal contributors to their reported positive performance and put it down to luck and chance.

Now, relying on external luck and chance for things to go well is naturally not a fair assessment of your strengths, skills, capabilities and achievements. We all have things we are good at, as well as those where we could improve or that we deem to be weaknesses. Not recognising and valuing what you do well and perceptions of not being as good as others think, can contribute to symptoms of depression, anxiety and low self-worth. It can contribute to perfectionism, overwork and burnout.

It’s also kind of unfair towards yourself to think this way and to dismiss your positive qualities and capabilities. And you probably don’t apply the same mindset and thinking pattern in your perceptions and expectations of others and what they do. It’s arguably also a little unfair to just dismiss well intentioned and honest positive feedback from others where they are offering you genuine praise for something you’ve done or achieved.

 

Practical Ways to Overcome Impostor Syndrome

 

1. Keep Evidence of Success

Many people with impostor syndrome remember criticism but forget praise.

Keep positive feedback, testimonials, compliments and achievements somewhere you can revisit them.

 

2. Question Automatic Thoughts

When you think:

“I’m a fraud.”

Ask:

“What actual evidence supports that?”

Very often the thought feels habitual and true inside your own head but isn’t supported by facts and actual evidence.

 

3. Stop Comparing Your Inside to Other People’s Outside

Most people share their successes and hide their struggles.

Comparing yourself to carefully selected highlights is rarely fair or accurate.

You are comparing the inside of your life with the carefully selected highlights of somebody else’s.

 

4. Accept That Nobody Knows Everything

Feeling uncertain sometimes does not mean you are incompetent.

It often means you are learning, growing or doing something important.

Everyone has to go away and find answers or work things out sometimes.

 

5. Learn to Accept Positive Feedback

Rather than automatically dismissing compliments, practise accepting them at face value.

Allow yourself to acknowledge that you may have genuinely done something well. Give compliments the benefit of the doubt and allow yourself to consider that it may be true.

 

Frequently Asked Questions About Impostor Syndrome

What causes impostor syndrome?

A combination of anxiety, perfectionism, self-doubt, life experiences and habitual thinking patterns can contribute.

Can successful people have impostor syndrome?

Yes. Many highly successful people experience impostor syndrome despite strong evidence of competence.

Is impostor syndrome linked to anxiety?

Very often. Anxiety increases self-doubt, fear of judgement and negative self-evaluation.

Can hypnotherapy help with impostor syndrome?

Many people find hypnotherapy helps reduce anxiety, self-criticism and limiting beliefs that maintain impostor syndrome.

 

Related Articles

• Why Do I Care So Much What People Think?

• Low Confidence and Anxiety: Why They’re Often Linked

• Social Anxiety vs Low Confidence

• How to Tame Your Inner Critic

• How to Build Confidence and Self-Esteem

 

Feeling Stuck With Impostor Syndrome?

If impostor syndrome has been affecting your confidence, career, decision making or day-to-day wellbeing, support is available.

Many people find that once anxiety, self-criticism and overthinking begin to settle, they naturally start seeing themselves more realistically and confidently.

You can learn more about confidence hypnotherapy in Ely here or book a free initial consultation to discuss what might help.

When I work with people to tackle impostor syndrome, they learn how to be more balanced, objective, fair and accurate in their assessments of their own performance and achievements. They learn to feel more comfortable in their own skin and to be free of that old fear of being found out. It makes for feeling happier, calmer and more positive in your interactions with others, as well as in the things that go on inside of your own head. You stop feeling like you are an impostor and start feeling good just being you.

To your happiness,

Dan Regan

Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

 

Struggling with your anxiety, low self-esteem or impostor syndrome and need some expert help to learn how to overcome it? Book your Complimentary Hypnotherapy Strategy Session with me now: Appointments

You can discover what many, many other people have said after their anxiety, confidence and self-esteem hypnotherapy sessions with Dan: Testimonials

And check out these powerful anxiety hypnosis downloads that can start helping you right away: Anxiety Hypnosis Downloads

 

Reference:

Brauer, K. and Proyer, R.T., 2022. The Impostor Phenomenon and causal attributions of positive feedback on intelligence tests. Personality and Individual Differences, 194, p.111663.