Have you got imposter syndrome?

Hi there. Yes, it's been a while.... so, how've you been?

Life has been hectic for me in the last few months, and something that's been grumbling away in the background is what I'm posting about today.  You know when you've got an ache, and you think "I'll look that up on the internet, see what it might be?" Well, it's fascinating what you can find by googling...

Do you ever have days when you feel that you're not all you're cracked up to be? That someone somewhere sometime is going to expose you as a 'fraud' for not being as good at what you do as you (or others) claim you are? A fear of not being good enough, of being 'found out'? Apparently there's a name for this - 'Imposter Syndrome'.

I think this is something I've always felt a bit of - not being good enough, or not being quite enough. If you've felt it too, you're not alone. The late Maya Angelou wrote: “I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out'."

And it's not just you, me and Maya Angelou.... It's a known issue, worldwide.

Wikipedia says: "Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon or fraud syndrome) is a term coined in 1978 by clinical psychologists Dr. Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes referring to high-achieving individuals marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a 'fraud'."

Whenever my internal imposter feelings pop up, I remind myself - for every one negative thing I feel, think or hear about myself, I've also received a whole heap more words in praise that I need to remember and keep in mind. Quite possibly, it's human nature for us to ignore those positive things and only look out for / listen to the bad. We need to turn that around.

Here's a fantastic post about imposter syndrome, and how to deal with it... http://startupbros.com/21-ways-overcome-impostor-syndrome/

And another, which says that it can actually be a GOOD thing for us to have: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36082469
 

Take charge of your internal imposter feelings now!

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS.............