Everyone here is so much smarter than me. I got here by luck.

Have you ever felt that you don't belong where you at? Ever felt that your colleagues at work might find that out and expose you? Do you feel you just got lucky in finding your job. Do you have the feeling that "someone will find you out" and kick you out of your job? Do you feel that you don't deserve your job, education, accomplishments or achievements in your life?

Well my friend, join the club of 70% of the whole world population, who feels the same. The feelings you have is a natural phenomena named as "Impostor Syndrome".

When the identity that one is "projecting" to others is at odds with how they see themselves privately, there's a sense of "faking it"... it's an awareness of a dissociation between public and private self-concepts.

Quote: Les Matheson, Technical trainer at Bloomberg

Don't worry as this is not a mental illness that you need to spend time at hospital. But an emotional roadblock created inside you due to various factors.

I'm writing this as a note to myself, as it took me 30+ years till today to figure out; "I'm not alone in this". This will help you identify Impostor Syndrome and start making passive improvements to make it go away.

Impostor syndrome : the idea that you’ve only succeeded due to luck, and not because of your talent or qualifications was first identified in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes (Paper 1, Paper 2).

Bellow is a short video on how to identify Impostor Syndrome and main causes.

Its documented that many high achievers, billionaires, and movie stars, tend to feel like complete frauds, that their accomplishments are the results of pure luck.

Check bellow video on how Australian Tech billionaire CEO (who co-founded Atlassian) Mike Cannon Brookers, describe about his fight against Impostor Syndrome

What Causes Impostor Syndrome?

Scientists and researchers argue that there are two major factors that cause Impostor Syndrome. Nurture and Nature.

• Nurture - Childhood memories and experiences that you've grown up with. Ex. Your grades were never good enough for your parents or that your siblings outshone you in certain areas. Continuous yelling of “You can do better, I know you can!”, "You are worse than your brother/friend/Sister". Constant criticism
• Nature - Being emotionally reactive, self focused, Feeling of inadequacy and various different factors.

In brief your notion of what it means to be competent has a powerful impact on how competent you feel. It’s also at the core of impostor feelings. Everyone has unconscious rules in their head about what it means to be competent.

These rules tend to begin with “should,” “always,” or “never.” (Source)

If I were really intelligent, capable, competent…

• I should know everything in my field
• I should get it right the first time
• I should excel in everything I do
• I’d always know the answer
• I’d always understand what I’m reading
• I’d always feel confident
• I’d never make a mistake
• I’d never be confused
• I’d never need help

5 Types of Impostors

Subject matter expert Dr Valerie Young categories it into 5 different subgroups and this is directly derived from the article "5 Different Types of Impostor Syndrome by MELODY J. WILDING"

1. The Perfectionist

Perfectionism and imposter syndrome often go hand-in-hand. Think about it: Perfectionists set excessively high goals for themselves, and when they fail to reach a goal, they experience major self-doubt and worry about measuring up. Whether they realize it or not, this group can also be control freaks, feeling like if they want something done right, they have to do it themselves.

Not sure if this applies to you? Ask yourself these questions:

• Have you ever been accused of being a micromanager?
• Do you have great difficulty delegating? Even when you’re able to do so, do you feel frustrated and disappointed in the results?
• When you miss the (insanely high) mark on something, do you accuse yourself of “not being cut out” for your job and ruminate on it for days?
• Do you feel like your work must be 100% perfect, 100% of the time?

For this type, success is rarely satisfying because they believe they could’ve done even better. But that’s neither productive nor healthy. Owning and celebrating achievements is essential if you want to avoid burnout, find contentment, and cultivate self-confidence.

Solution:

Learn to take your mistakes in stride, viewing them as a natural part of the process. In addition, push yourself to act before you’re ready.

Force yourself to start the project you’ve been planning for months. Truth is, there will never be the “perfect time” and your work will never be 100% flawless. The sooner you’re able to accept that, the better off you’ll be.

2. The Superwoman/man

Since people who experience this phenomenon are convinced they’re phonies amongst real-deal colleagues, they often push themselves to work harder and harder to measure up. But this is just a false cover-up for their insecurities, and the work overload may harm not only their own mental health, but also their relationships with others.

Not sure if this applies to you?

• Do you stay later at the office than the rest of your team, even past the point that you’ve completed that day’s necessary work?
• Do you get stressed when you’re not working and find downtime completely wasteful?
• Have you left your hobbies and passions fall by the wayside, sacrificed to work?
• Do you feel like you haven’t truly earned your title (despite numerous degrees and achievements), so you feel pressed to work harder and longer than those around you to prove your worth?

Imposter workaholics are actually addicted to the validation that comes from working, not to the work itself. Start training yourself to veer away from external validation. No one should have more power to make you feel good about yourself than you—even your boss when they give your project the stamp of approval. On the flip side, learn to take constructive criticism seriously, not personally.

Solution

As you become more attuned to internal validation and able to nurture your inner confidence that states you’re competent and skilled, you’ll be able to ease off the gas as you gauge how much work is reasonable.

3. The Natural Genius

Young says people with this competence type believe they need to be a natural “genius.” As such, they judge their competence based ease and speed as opposed to their efforts. In other words, if they take a long time to master something, they feel shame.

These types of imposters set their internal bar impossibly high, just like perfectionists. But natural genius types don’t just judge themselves based on ridiculous expectations, they also judge themselves based on getting things right on the first try. When they’re not able to do something quickly or fluently, their alarm sounds.

Not sure if this applies to you?

• Are you used to excelling without much effort?
• Do you have a track record of getting “straight A’s” or “gold stars” in everything you do?
• Were you told frequently as a child that you were the “smart one” in your family or peer group?
• Do you dislike the idea of having a mentor, because you can handle things on your own?
• When you’re faced with a setback, does your confidence tumble because not performing well provokes a feeling of shame?
• Do you often avoid challenges because it’s so uncomfortable to try something you’re not great at?

Solution

To move past this, try seeing yourself as a work in progress. Accomplishing great things involves lifelong learning and skill-building—for everyone, even the most confident people. Rather than beating yourself up when you don’t reach your impossibly high standards, identify specific, changeable behaviors that you can improve over time.

For example, if you want to have more impact at the office, it’s much more productive to focus on honing your presentation skills than swearing off speaking up in meetings as something you’re “just not good at.”

4. The Soloist

Sufferers who feel as though asking for help reveals their phoniness are what Young calls Soloists. It’s OK to be independent, but not to the extent that you refuse assistance so that you can prove your worth.

Not sure if this applies to you? Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you firmly feel that you need to accomplish things on your own?
• “I don’t need anyone’s help.” Does that sound like you?
• Do you frame requests in terms of the requirements of the project, rather than your needs as a person?

5. The Expert

Experts measure their competence based on “what” and “how much” they know or can do. Believing they will never know enough, they fear being exposed as inexperienced or unknowledgeable.

• Do you shy away from applying to job postings unless you meet every single educational requirement?
• Are you constantly seeking out trainings or certifications because you think you need to improve your skills in order to succeed?
• Even if you’ve been in your role for some time, can you relate to feeling like you still don’t know “enough?”
• Do you shudder when someone says you’re an expert?

Solution

It’s true that there’s always more to learn. Striving to bulk up your skill set can certainly help you make strides professionally and keep you competitive in the job market. But taken too far, the tendency to endlessly seek out more information can actually be a form of procrastination.

Start practising just-in-time learning. This means acquiring a skill when you need it–for example, if your responsibilities change–rather than hoarding knowledge for (false) comfort.

Realise there’s no shame in asking for help when you need it. If you don’t know how to do something, ask a co-worker. If you can’t figure out how to solve a problem, seek advice from a supportive supervisor, or even a career coach. Mentoring junior colleagues or volunteering can be a great way to discover your inner expert. When you share what you know it not only benefits others, 

How to get away from Imposter Syndrome

Bellow is a video from Subject matter expert Dr Valerie Young explaining how to get away from Imposter syndrome,

Summary of the above video. Steps to take (Source: Dr Valerie Young)

1. Break the silence. Shame keeps a lot of people from “fessing up” about their fraudulent feelings. Knowing there’s a name for these feelings and that you are not alone can be tremendously freeing. 
2. Separate feelings from fact. There are times you’ll feel stupid. It happens to everyone from time to time. Realize that just because you may feel stupid, doesn’t mean you are.
3. Recognise when you should feel fraudulent. If you’re one of the first or the few women or a minority in your field or work place, it’s only natural you’d sometimes feel like you don’t totally fit in. Instead of taking your self-doubt as a sign of your ineptness, recognise that it might be a normal response to being an outsider. 
4. Accentuate the positive. Perfectionism can indicate a healthy drive to excel. The trick is to not obsess over everything being just so. Do a great job when it matters most, without persevering over routine tasks. Forgive yourself when the inevitable mistake happens. 
5. Develop a new response to failure and mistake making. Henry Ford once said, “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” Instead of beating yourself up for being human and blowing the big project, do what professional athletes do and glean the learning value from the mistake and move on. 
6. Right the rules. If you’ve been operating under misguided rules like, “I should always know the answer,” or “Never ask for help” start asserting your rights. Recognize that you have just as much right as the next person to be wrong, have an off-day, or ask for assistance. 
7. Develop a new script. Your script is that automatic mental tapes that starts playing in situations that trigger your Impostor feelings. When you start a new job or project instead of thinking for example, “Wait till they find out I have no idea what I’m doing,” try thinking, “Everyone who starts something new feels off-base in the beginning. I may not know all the answers but I’m smart enough to find them out.” 
8. Visualise success. Do what professional athletes do. Spend time beforehand picturing yourself making a successful presentation or calmly posing your question in class. It sure beats picturing impending disaster and will help with performance-related stress. 
9. Reward yourself. Break the cycle of continually seeking °? and then dismissing °? validation outside of yourself by learning to pat yourself on the back.
10. Fake it ‘til you make it. Now and then we all have to fly by the seat of our pants. Instead of considering “winging it” as proof of your ineptness, learn to do what many high achievers do and view it as a skill. The point of the worn out phrase, fake it til you make it, still stands: Don’t wait until you feel confident to start putting yourself out there. Courage comes from taking risks. Change your behavior first and allow your confidence to build. 

There is always a light at the end of a dark tunnel, or a silver lining.

Majority of the people who experience Impostor Syndrome are already successful, which is, a great thing in the first place. It’s a sign that you have achieved so much. It’s just you have an incorrect assessment of your abilities compared to others. People with imposter syndrome have self-doubt, but this self-doubt actually pushes them further, work harder and second-guess nearly everything they do (Source: Liz Verano, )

Reference Sources and Based on

1. https://time.com/5312483/how-to-deal-with-impostor-syndrome/
2. https://www.themuse.com/advice/5-different-types-of-imposter-syndrome-and-5-ways-to-battle-each-one
3. https://www.quora.com/What-causes-someone-to-develop-Impostor-Syndrome
4. https://impostorsyndrome.com/10-steps-overcome-impostor/
5. https://www.chanty.com/blog/stop-feeling-like-imposter-work/
6. https://www.recurse.com/manual#sub-sec-social-rules