How To Know If You Have IMPOSTOR Syndrome

[00:00:00] Hi everyone. Today I'm going to talk about a topic that plagues many high achievers, imposter syndrome. You know that feeling that nagging doubt, whispering that you're a total fraud, just waiting to be exposed or found out? It's a sneaky little gremlin that can hold you back

[00:00:19] from reaching your full potential. But what I told you there's a way to silence that inner critic and a lot of confidence that you rightly deserve. Let's first unpack what imposter syndrome truly is because it's more than just an occasional self-doubt. It's a persistent and

[00:00:38] overwhelming feeling of inadequacy that lingers even when faced with evidence of your success. You might downplay your accomplishments, you might convince yourself, oh they were just a fluke you know. Or you might live in constant fear of being found out as a fraud. It's like an imposter

[00:00:58] alarm blaring inside of you ready to go off at any moment. Hi I'm Kate Wilder and if you're new here welcome. I'm a mindset coach and my channel is about leveling up your life and manifesting your goals and dreams through self-improvement techniques that I've personally used for a

[00:01:14] long time and am excited to help you on your journey. Before we jump into battling the imposter let's address the surprising truth about imposter syndrome. It can actually have some positive aspects. It's pushing you to work harder and strive for excellence right? You know it can also keep

[00:01:31] you humble and grounded. The key is to not let imposter syndrome control you. When it's becoming paralyzing or hinders your growth or well-being that's when it's not so good. Here's a study according to Barnett and Mislow this is a 2018 study on imposter syndrome. They say that imposter syndrome

[00:01:52] while challenging can be a source of creative energy as the drive to overcome self-doubt might lead to pushing boundaries and achieving greater creative output. Imposter syndrome can manifest in different ways. Maybe you meticulously prepare for presentations even on familiar topics

[00:02:12] because you're terrified of appearing unprepared. I can identify with this one or perhaps procrastination looms on starting a new project fearing you won't be able to deliver high quality work. In the next video I address perfectionism which is sort of similar to imposter syndrome but imposter syndrome is

[00:02:33] that added really I'm afraid to be found out and believe it or not many really successful people still struggle with this even though they should have proven to themselves by now that it's

[00:02:45] not true. Do you have us? So maybe you deflect compliments, do you brush them off, is undeserved or simply luck? Are you constantly comparing yourself to others especially those who seem to have it all together? This social comparison can make you feel like a fraud in comparison.

[00:03:04] Did you have overly critical parents or a highly competitive environment growing up? You know these experiences can shape your self perception and make you feel like constantly needing to prove yourself. Do you hold yourself to unrealistic standards? The relentless pursuit of perfectionism

[00:03:23] can fuel imposter syndrome because you'll never quite feel good enough. Maybe you didn't see many people who look like you achieving success in your field so this lack of representation can make it harder to believe that you belong. How do you know if you have imposter syndrome?

[00:03:40] Imposter syndrome doesn't have a one-size-fits-all look. You know it can manifest in different ways depending on your personality and your background. See if you can identify yourself in four common imposter syndrome types we talked about the perfectionist this imposter is driven by a

[00:03:57] relentless need to be flawless. You might feel this one the natural genius this imposter believes they should be naturally gifted at everything they do if they have to struggle or work hard to learn something new they feel like a fraud they might avoid challenges or procrastinate on tasks

[00:04:19] fearing they won't be able to achieve mastery instantly or how about this one the solo act this imposter feels like they have to do everything themselves to prove their competence they might be hesitant to delegate tasks or ask for help fearing they'll appear incapable

[00:04:39] this can lead to burnout and hinder overall effectiveness too and then we also have the overachievers this imposter feels like a constant need to be achieving more to feel worthy they might never feel satisfied with their accomplishments always chasing the next best

[00:04:58] thing this endless pursuit of achievements can leave them feeling exhausted and unfulfilled to any of these self-amiliar to you recognition of your imposter type can be a powerful tool and understanding your own self-doubt taking steps to challenge it and this leads me to the

[00:05:17] most important reason to tell of imposter syndrome is holding you back with these red flags to watch out for discounting achievements do you consistently downplay your achievement or do you attribute them to luck to timing or the help of others you might even deflect compliments feeling like

[00:05:36] you don't deserve them here's the big one fear of exposure do you happen to live in a state of anxiety more often than you wish you did that people will discover you're not competent not as much

[00:05:49] as they think this kind of fear can manifest as procrastination or over preparation or hesitation to even try and you might even feel like others have it all together but for some reason you

[00:06:04] feel like you're going to get exposed one of these days how can you silence this imposter and reclaim your confidence here's some actionable steps you can take the first step is to come aware of yourself doubt when that negative voice starts whispering try to catch yourself challenge the

[00:06:22] validity of those thoughts are they based on facts or just your inner critic gather evidence to counteract those negative beliefs and focus on concrete examples of your skills and achievements when you achieve something acknowledge your hard work and talent did you get a promotion recognize

[00:06:42] the skills and dedication that led to that success so let me give you self-improvement affirmations or mantras you can repeat when the self-doubt creeps in just tell yourself I am capable and I am worthy my achievements are a result of my hard work and skill

[00:06:59] it's okay to make mistakes they are opportunities to learn and grow I don't need to be perfect to be successful I am enough just as I am remember affirmations are most effective when you truly

[00:07:13] believe them it might take time to believe them we've talked in other episodes about getting past that gatekeeper between the conscious and subconscious minds that reticular activating system I'll put a link if you haven't seen that episode yet but repetition is the key

[00:07:28] to retraining that subconscious mind no matter what we're trying to do but when you write or tell yourself these things very often gradually you will rewrite your inner narrative it works focus on progress not perfection and just remember even the most accomplished people sometimes

[00:07:46] struggle with feeling like a fraud but the good news is there are ways to overcome imposter syndrome and embrace your true potential in fact my next video will be diving deep into another

[00:07:57] common roadblock to success perfectionism so if you feel like you're not good enough don't miss it I'll put the link there also don't forget to hit that subscribe button for upcoming episodes on self-improvement hacks that are just coming your way happy manifesting everybody