One more newsletter before we break for the Christmas holidays.
I might sound like I am repeating myself now but I do like to open with a refresher just in case you missed my first few newsletters. So before we begin, let's revise quickly what is Impostor syndrome? Impostor syndrome is defined as feeling like a fraud in your career and doubting your abilities, not being able to internalise your success and fearing that you will soon be found out by your peers.?
They say 70% of us experience impostor syndrome at some point in our career and life. It happens to both men and women. In my own personal experience and my clients, it generally has a habit of creeping up during periods of change like starting a new job, organisational changes and career transitions.?
?Here are 10 common signs of impostor syndrome:?
- You put your success down to pure luck - you may fear being found out by your boss and co-workers. You can’t believe you were chosen for the promotion. You might even believe you are a bit of a bluffer. You find it hard to internalise your successes. You downplay your accomplishments.?
- You underestimate your ability - There is a job promotion or opportunity that you can apply for but you don’t see that you are good enough. Your boss might offer you a project but you might doubt your ability and think you don’t have what it takes, even though they clearly trust you.?
- You are procrastinating - You might be putting things off as you don’t want to be exposed as a fraud. The reason might be you don’t feel ready or good enough and fear making a mistake but really you are delaying your success in the role.?
- You are a perfectionist and beat yourself up for even minor mistakes - You may aim for 100% perfection and if you have any error you focus on that and are really hard on yourself for these minor mistakes. You completely forget about what you did right.
- You are a workaholic - You might over work and take on extra work and hours to prove yourself in the job but deep down it is to put a mask over your feelings of inadequacy. You overcompensate by over-committing so nobody can say you are not good enough. It is okay to go the extra mile and help out when needed but always checking the motivation behind it. You feel guilty if you take time off. You avoid taking holidays or half days.?
- You are unable to accept praise or compliments - You reject every bit of praise for your work. You talk it down and praise others who helped you out. You might only hear criticism too and accept that more easily than the positive feedback.?
- You are struggling with burn out - You are neglecting your wellbeing and self-care. You don’t have a good work-life balance. You have no time for the things you used to do like going to gym, socialising and meeting with friends. You have no time for yourself or your family. You feel unfit and unhealthy as the self-care has dropped.?
- You believe that your colleagues have it all together - You feel like a fraud in comparison to your colleagues. You believe everyone knows what they are doing all the time except you. You think it is only a matter of time they will find out what a fraud you are.?
- You believe that your job or career defines you. You might put off other areas of your life from progressing because you don’t feel successful enough yet in your career. If you are not feeling fulfilled in your career, then you delay being fulfilled in other areas like a relationship as you believe that your career status is how people decide your worth.
- You are starting to isolate yourself - You avoid colleagues and spending lunch times with them in case they find out too much about you and realise you are a fraud. You might have started a new job where it is important to connect one to one with the new team and build relationships but you keep putting it off in case they realise you do not have the abilities to do the job.?
From my research, the root cause of impostor syndrome is because we have underlying fears and limiting beliefs that need to be overcome. Experiencing impostor syndrome is completely normal. You are not alone. I love to work with my clients in breaking through their self-doubt and fears so they can grow and flourish in their careers. If you can relate to any of above signs of impostor syndrome, then I would love to hear from you. You can book a clarity call here where we will clarify if your challenges, experiences and your career vision. You will also see if we are a good fit to work together in helping you breakthrough your impostor syndrome so you can grow and flourish in your career.?Think about all you could achieve in 2023 if you didn't feel like an impostor anymore.
Happy Christmas to you all. Have a lovely time! If you have any questions, please send me a DM or email to [email protected]
