Imposter Syndrome
Imposter Syndrome: "Obvious to You, Amazing to Others"
Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently doing what's not working.
— Derek Sivers, Anything You Want
As this article from HBR underlines, *"Imposter syndrome can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success." *Imposter syndrome can often be linked with perfectionism, which is fueled by cognitive distortions and can prevent progress from happening. Imposter syndrome may be more prominent among individuals who score high in personality traits agreeableness and neuroticism, I would argue. Agreeable people tend to feel a lot of Resistance toward conflict, chaos, "saying no" to other people. Neurotic individuals tend to be heavily influenced by emotional reactions in the face of events, whatever their nature. A person who scores high in neuroticism is more prone, generally speaking, to experiencing negative emotions such as anxiety, nervousness, panic, sadness, with a higher susceptibility to depression or anxiety disorders (compared to a more emotionally stable individual). Although it is generally believed that individual personality traits are mostly fixed throughout our life, our attitudes and mental models can be improved significantly with dedication and deliberate practice.
Sometimes imposter syndrome can be a signal that something we are doing is not totally appropriate. Being our own devil's advocate* *may always be a good idea. Accepting the imposter syndrome as the initial reaction, meditating on it, and assessing the source of imposter syndrome can be efficacious steps to intervene at the source. An additional mindset that can make the difference when it comes to dealing with imposter syndrome involves cultivating a beginner's mind. By seeing ourselves as beginners, i.e., constantly learning despite our experience and carefully paying attention to what we do, we can embrace the "process over outcome" mindset, which can unlock the potential within ourselves. When you focus on the process, truly and wholeheartedly, life may feel lighter, and you can also learn to reframe failures as learning opportunities.
Sometimes, amateurs have more to teach us than experts. An amateur understands the beginner's mind. The expert doesn’t.
— Austin Kleon, Show Your Work