How to Overcome the Imposter Syndrome in a Toxic Job

As the world continues to spin in normalized chaos there is another pandemic brewing. Women in leadership that claim to have the Imposter Syndrome. They are using this “external force” as a reason why they can’t get ahead in their professional lives. They blame this external enigma for why they are abused at work and treated unfairly. ?

Look ladies, this notion is absolutely absurd. I don’t care what the studies from a multitude of professional journals and organizations say to justify this “condition,” it’s not true. You’re just using it as a reason to keep playing small while your soul is calling you to GREATER. There’s a better way.

The impostor syndrome is when you have a distorted view of yourself. Many highly successful people have two selves. Their work self and their home selves. Does this sound like you?

Your professional image is shiny and powerful. You are adorned with a multitude of degrees, awards, titles, and medals, and you stand 400 feet tall in your organization. You are an icon in your industry—a golden idol of yourself, standing tall for the whole world to see.?

However, if you have not invested the same amount of time, money, and energy into strengthening your self-image as you have your professional persona, this is where the problem arises. There will be a significant disconnect in how you see yourself.

The home you – the weak one that comes home defeated, burned out, and with a negative voice running rampant in your head. The one walking around with the skeletons of your past and complaining that everyone else is to blame for your inability to get to the next level. The unhealed child that’s stuck in the trauma default loop.

The little you is three feet tall and no matter what you do, how many degrees you have, or how much money you make, you never really FEEL successful. The more you obtain, the greater the fear of being discovered is magnified, and the negative voice in your head gets louder. There is a struggle between whom the world sees and whom the voice in your head condemns.

You aren’t self-confident, and the higher you rise professionally, the bigger the gap becomes between your professional persona – your (golden idol) external projection of self – and your trauma default – your (unhealed child) internal perspective of self.

Many women work themselves into an early grave because they never realize they made it. They are fighting against the underlying story in their head of someone telling them they will never amount to much or they aren’t good enough. They cannot even see their present reality of the big house, fancy car, material possessions, and a loving family. They spend their exhaustive energy and days at work to prove their worthiness.?

But the voice they are hearing is from the past. Living from the mind of their past, these women drive their relationships into the ground, neglect their children, and spend their money on useless things that will never make them feel successful.?

People See Whom You See

One of the best-kept secrets is this... People see whom you see. Your greatest challenge to overcome is having an unpredictable and distorted vision of yourself. When you get angry at people for treating you like a nobody, could the cause be rooted in your subconscious belief that you are nobody?

Do you adjust who you are to suit other people's preferences and expectations? The limited view from your childhood and your trauma default is the imposter. Not the great woman or man the world sees. Heal yourself of your trauma default and free yourself from yourself.

Do the work to discover your hidden and buried seed of Light and then invest time, money, and energy to personally develop the little you to merge the two you’s. Then you will be unstoppable because you will know exactly who you are, why you are here, and what you’re meant to accomplish in this lifetime.?

With this life-changing clarity and awareness, you will not shrink when you’re in the presence of others. You will not measure yourself against other people and think they are better than you. You will know exactly who you are and know with 100% certainty that you were made for greater and you will get busy doing the work you were called to do.

Look, ladies, do the work to become comfortable with yourself and you’ll find others will become more comfortable with you. People don’t require you to shrink your power to make them at ease. You are adjusting your power and majesty, which makes you uneasy and that makes them uneasy.

When you are at peace IN your power, "they" will be at peace WITH your power.

Dare to be bold. Dare to play bigger. Dare to dream bigger. You deserve it!!

What are your thoughts about the Imposter Syndrome? What did you learn about yourself in this article? I’d love to get your feedback.

Christy Rutherford is an executive leadership advisor and high-level business consultant. Her clients have received +$11 million in raises and promotions since June 2020. Her?work?closes the promotion gap for exceptional women. A Harvard Business School Alumna and certified Executive Leadership Coach from Georgetown University, Christy is also a 6-time best-selling author. Get her latest book “Trauma Default” here.?