Tackle Your Imposter Syndrome: 7 Steps

Do you suffer from imposter syndrome sometimes?

Are you anxious that you aren’t smart enough, don’t know enough or won’t be able to keep up with your peers?
Are you afraid of making a mistake, not knowing the right answer or not doing the right thing?
Have you ever felt like a fraud and that people were going to find out?

If so, you aren’t alone. I’ve been there and so has around 70% of the population.

But here’s the skinny on imposter syndrome. It’s not an affliction or a genetic predisposition. It’s just a collection of negative thoughts you have about yourself.

Your brain has a bias towards critical self-talk and you’ve gotten in the habit of believing it.

These beliefs often go way back to your childhood and are influenced by your family, education, culture and society.

It can feel terrible to believe these thoughts about yourself.

They hold you hostage by keeping you small. You don’t show up as your best self and you’re less likely to achieve your goals, creating evidence for your original fears. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You’re also more likely to seek external validation in order to feel better about yourself, prioritizing other peoples’ opinions over your own. When you do this you hand over your emotional well being and self worth to others. This is disempowering.

So how do you tackle imposter syndrome?

Here are 7 steps:

Acknowledge these feelings: Don’t bury them. There is nothing wrong with you. You’re just being human. Be compassionate with yourself and face your feelings.
Shine the light on your THOUGHTS: Bring awareness to the thoughts that are creating these feelings. Do a thought download. Be honest and vulnerable with yourself with a sense of compassion and curiosity. Where do they come from? Separate the facts from your thoughts and feelings.
Question them: Just because you and everyone around you believes these thoughts are true doesn’t mean they are! You get to decide what you want to believe. It is your mind. It’s your queendom.
Look for the positive: Practice looking for evidence to the contrary. If there is a failure, look for the learning opportunity in it. See the gift in it.
You are 100% worthy: Know you that you are intrinsically perfect as you are. Your self-worth comes from within, not from others.
Create new thoughts that serve you: Intentionally choose thoughts that support you and the vision of yourself you want to embody and create in the world. Self-confidence comes from believing in yourself.
Visualize yourself successful: Envision yourself succeeding in your endeavors. if you can see yourself in that state of being you're more likely to achieve it.