Achievement Dysmorphia: The Real Confidence Culprit

For years we've explored the idea of Imposter Syndrome showing up as an attack on our self-confidence and limiting our potential. But that never felt like a perfect fit for me. Achievement Dysmorphia is not feeling like a fraud; it's your internal resistance to acknowledging and celebrating your accomplishments. It's when you create a skewed perception and subconsciously twist your reality, preventing you from seeing what others can see.?

Last year, I heard a similar concept described as Productivity Dysmorphia. It resonated, but I felt like it was still missing the mark. When I discuss this with my clients, yes, the idea of productivity is regularly shrouded in shame and pressure. However, productivity lives more at the surface, like a symptom. When we peel it back further, a dysfunctional relationship with achievement is at the core.

Over the last few years, I've seen this show up with my clients in the form of:??

• struggling to remember past successes or wins
• feeling uncomfortable accepting compliments
• discounting or minimizing achievements
• worrying or stressing that they're not doing enough
• reluctance to pause for rest or celebrate wins
• always chasing after the next project or goal
• external changes can make them question their abilities or identity?
• extreme competitiveness

I have a deep history of discounting my accomplishments. Whenever I reached a new level, it was never enough. I was always focused on the goal beyond that, thinking I would feel justified in accepting acknowledgment once I got there. Years, decades, have gone by and I've never found myself crossing an actual finish line. When I turned in my manuscript last fall, I shielded myself from congratulations because the book wasn't completely done. I had written the first version of my book...why wasn't that something I felt justified to celebrate?

Most people have a degree of Achievement Dysmorphia and there are challenges with letting it go unaddressed. Not being willing or able to see your past success limits your brain's ability to ideate future possibilities. Your mind cannot cast a wide net of new ideas when you've put up barriers to remember how far you've come.?

Let that sink in. Achievement Dysmorphia stunts your brain's potential when you're looking to the future. It's no wonder why so many of us feel uncomfortable when we step into the unknown.

Why does this happen?

There are many reasons, but a few come to mind as it relates to work.

1. Traditional Performance Reviews. It seems that for most companies, a perfect score on a performance review is not attainable. There's always something more you can do; a new way to improve. This conditions employees to associate their shortfalls with any progress they've made.
2. Social Media Comparison. It's just too easy to compare ourselves to other people's progress, often without even realizing it. Using someone else's yardstick as a way measure to measure your progress creates unrealistic expectations.
3. Toxic Work Environments. Gaslighting, gossip, public shaming, lack of transparency, and inconsistent leadership styles (all of which I've personally experienced) contribute to someone's inability to see their value.
4. Burnout. Who can think of anything when operating on empty?

On top of it all, the last two years have evaporated into thin air, making it even more challenging to see progress and momentum.

What's the solution??

One way to start reversing this syndrome is to consciously look backward and open the accordion file of your progress. When I see my clients struggling to develop new ideas, I suggest we pause to look back on growth and past successes.?

Try thinking about yourself from 10 years ago. Who were you in 2012? Where did you live??Who were your closest relationships? What did you do/plan to do for work???What did you look forward to back then??What were some specific goals of yours??What fears and concerns did you have??

After you get into your mind from 2012, the most critical question is: how did you get from there to here??

Looking back helps us see the reality of our capabilities and provides us with more space to look to the future. Simply put: it primes the canvas of your mind before you start painting.?

Achievement Dysmorphia is one of the concepts from my upcoming book,?Bridging the Gap: When You've Changed, But Your World Hasn't Kept Up.?To hear more and be the first to know when it's published, please?sign up for updates.?