3 Ways To Shift Your Imposter Syndrome Now

So you get all excited thinking about that book you want to write, the talk you want to give or the next level of income and success you want to achieve in your business.  

But for some of you, you keep procrastinating on starting, making excuses about not having enough time, or just flat out, feel the fear inside of you.  

 Imposter syndrome is that voice in your head that tells you you’re not good enough, qualified enough and you’re definitely going to be found out as a fraud. 

 The good news is that your level of imposter syndrome can be taken down a notch or three by a few easy shifts in perception.  

 It’s a fact that imposter syndrome is extremely common among high achievers. So if you do have it, consider yourself among those ranks.  

Often when we’re feeling like a fraud or not good enough, we see others in our industry rocking it on stages, writing books, doing that thing you’d really love to do in your business. We think they have it all together. We see them as confident, capable and their success as well deserved.  

But, under the surface, they likely have feelings similar to yours. You don’t get to see the nerves they experience before heading on stage, the doubts about people not wanting to read their books, or the fear of their success being a fluke. 

 So think about someone you’d love to have the success of in your industry. Instead of seeing them in your head as totally confident, imagine they’re at home having doubts and worries about the success of their next project. Or the nerves they feel about their next public appearance.  

Chose to see in your minds eye this other side of them, and see how much more like them you feel.  

A lot of us have this deep-seated belief in perfection, even if we don’t admit it to ourselves. I would have never considered myself a perfectionist. I didn’t go over work I was doing until it was absolutely perfect. 

Yet where it did show up for me was in relationships. If I made a mistake or did something less than perfect then everything was my fault and the other person’s inadequacies would be excused. Even though my clients got great results, if they didn’t get ‘the best’ results, (and better and better each time), then deep down I’d blame myself. 

Is there’s anywhere you’re a bit of a perfectionist? 

I believe perfectionism and imposter syndrome are closely related. We believe we’re imposters because we’re not absolutely perfect. Yet what we don’t realise is the measure we’re putting ourselves up against is invalid.  

Perfection doesn’t exit.  

When you realise this inside yourself, that everyone makes mistakes, we’re all just doing the best we can. It can bring that stick you’re measuring yourself against down quite a bit. 

You’re business isn’t about you never making mistakes, or being infallible. It’s about serving people. And being human is perfectly ok too.  

The last reframe I’m going to give you is to notice how you see other successful people n your minds eye.  

Are they bigger than you, more colourful, higher up somehow?  

I want you to imagine them either shrinking to your level and colour, or you growing to theirs. 

Notice if there’s anything else they have about them that you feel makes them better or less of an imposter than you.  

Maybe it’s an energy about them, a colour, a posture, the clothes they’re wearing? Whatever it is, give those things to yourself too. Imagine yourself exactly the same way. Almost like you’re becoming them but with your own body. Notice how that feels, and then make the feeling even bigger.  

Do this for 5 minutes twice a day, or more! You’ll really notice a difference in your imposter syndrome.  

Emma Combes [email protected] 

LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/emmacombes/