Overcoming Impostor Syndrome Part II: Challenging Old Paradigms & Celebrating Achievements

I'd love to hear your experience: Prompts at the end of the article are: What are some ways you've challenged your impostor syndrome ? and What Achievements Can You Celebrate ?

Soon after publishing my last article Overcoming Impostor Syndrome (and Other Gremlins) to Engage more on LinkedIn for Nonprofit Professionals, I happened upon a very relevant lesson and mindful practice on this same topic in my Insight Timer ? app and it took me further into the journey of dealing with impostor syndrome.

In the Workplace space of Insight Timer , the meditation app for sleep, anxiety and stress, I saw a 'Workplace Skill' (short recordings from experts on different coping skills to practice in the workplace) called How to Overcome Impostor Syndrome.

From ChatSpot.ai, impostor syndrome is:

"... a psychological phenomenon where people doubt their accomplishments and have a persistent fear of being exposed as a fraud. Even when they achieve success, they perceive it as luck, timing, or even deceiving others into thinking they're more competent than they believe they are."

Downplaying our skills and worthiness of success causes us to doubt our capabilities and undermine your expertise. Chronic doubt, comparison and people pleasing,?can cause us to avoid opportunities. This has have major consequences to our self-actualization and our financial well-being. Plus, we deprive the world of our contribution to the greater good.

In the Workplace Skill lesson, Melody Wilding, LMSW points out that the impact from impostor syndrome burnout costs $190 billion a year and increases the risk for sleep problems, sleep disorders, depression and anxiety.?She says that 70% of people say they struggle with impostor syndrome sometime in their career and 50% say they deal with it weekly!

Wilding says that the study of impostor syndrome started in the 1970s when high achieving women were observed questioning their skills and value.

Curious to learn more, I found an article from 1978 from Georgia State University on The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention. The study sample included a mix of women with ?outstanding academic and professional accomplishments that experienced persistent impostor phenomenon.

In the study, researchers Pauline Rose Clance & Suzanne Imes put forth that "Certain early family dynamics and later introjection of societal sex-role stereotyping appear to contribute significantly to the development of the impostor phenomenon" and that the phenomenon occurs with much less frequency in men.

Later, the authors go into more detail and clarify that "the societal stereotype of women being less able intellectually than men begins to exacerbate and confirm at an early age the self-doubts that have already begun to develop in the context of the family dynamics."

In other words, while there are societal systems that perpetuate this stereotype, those who are most sensitive to that are those that picked up messaging in their family of origin dynamics. In the Insight Timer lesson, it was said that impostor syndrome is felt more intensely by professionals that are "highly sensitive".

In my last article, I referenced?Vu Le?of?Nonprofit AF?challenging us to look at our systems to challenge how we are encouraged to identify with impostor syndrome. He suggested that "systems are shitty, not us".

It can be scary to think of our families or other groups that we depend on for belonging as "shitty systems". Sometimes it takes this kind of truth telling to cut through the status quo. If it means are to be able to free ourselves from impostor syndrome, we can divert that energy to express new ideas and impact in our organizations and communities.

We don't have to blame or judge individuals -- just the system. Systems don't exist in a vacuum –– they usually develop over time (generations). I work on tweaking my own practice of defeating dynamics to make improvements on the system. A friend and I always say: It's not going to all happen in one generation, but going forward the next generations can built on new dynamics and thrive.

Since my impostor syndrome started back in early childhood development, I find plenty of therapeutic intervention has been necessary ??. Over time I've learned to utilize many tools to reprogram the previously-installed messaging. Overcoming impostor syndrome is not an overnight process.?It takes ongoing effort.?

Here are some tools ?? I use:

Educating my brain (which is what I'm doing writing this article): The Workplace Skill How to Overcome Impostor Syndrome has both a lesson and a practice

Reprogramming my brain: Creating T-charts - one column with the negative message I've been feeding myself, the second column is the opposite – a new positive message

Meditation: Quieting the inner critic and connecting with my higher self

Reparenting: Backfilling through the developmental stages of childhood with new messages, compassion, listening and unconditional love.

In The Insight Time practice part of How to Overcome Impostor Syndrome, Alexandra Elle said that when we fully own our achievements and successes the body releases endorphins...and I like endorphins! They have the ability to change the course of my day in a way that can impact those around me and the world in a more positive way.

In addition to a personal practice, Elle has some great ideas for the workplace and teams as well:

• Create a brag file, keep a list of successes
• Send a monthly roundup of your or your teams monthly?achievements
• In a staff meeting, have everyone share one achievement for the last week

I love these team ideas to encourage individuals to celebrate their contributions to the work and lift everyone up. This is part of the path to creating alignment in our organizations toward effective and positive outcomes.

What are some ways you've challenged your impostor syndrome? and What Achievements Can You Celebrate?