CORRUPTION THE NEW NORM

     

Imposter Syndrome.

    Have you ever felt that you are not enough to handle a particular job or you feel like you don’t deserve the success that you have achieved? Or when someone compliments your success your response is “I got lucky?” This is what we call Imposter syndrome. It is when you feel inadequate and you doubt your skills. The good news is its normal many people experience this. Surprisingly, even Einstein confessed to have suffered from imposter syndrome and even Maya Angelou one of the greatest writers also opened up about suffering from imposter syndrome.

    This syndrome can have a negative effect if not managed well someone might start underperforming at work even in school. It affects productivity because one might lack motivation. Imagine if Maya Angelou allowed the imposter syndrome to drag her down, we would not be reading interesting poems. Einstein would not have contributed to the field of physics. I have suffered and still suffer from imposter syndrome, where I doubt my skills especially how I write. This became serious at one point that every time I wrote something, I either deleted it immediately or I was reluctant to show it to anyone. It’s not until I was in a conference where the presenter was talking about Imposter syndrome that I finally found a name of something that has been affecting my life. 

            How to overcome Imposter syndrome 

    The first tip I learnt on how to deal with imposter syndrome is to first understand imposter syndrome. When we understand what is imposter syndrome and what are the signs it’s the first step of overcoming them.

 For instance; 

if people compliment you, you find it hard to accept you either say “I got lucky” or “this one is nothing.” 

If you are convinced you are not enough, the work you do will not suffice. As an artist you feel that the songs you write are not creative enough or as a student you feel that you are not smart enough despite working hard. 

You have to be observant of all the signs they can come through actions or even the language you use. Choices of words are really important. When presenting your work don’t say, “This is what I wrote I doubt it makes any sense.”

    The second tip to bear in mind is you are not alone. This is something that affects a lot of people at one point in their life and especially successful people. As long as you are proactive you can overcome it. Watch inspiring videos of people sharing their experiences like https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2014/04/03/impostor-syndrome/ Maya Angelou opening up about imposter syndrome and how she overcame it. 

Imposter syndrome is not curable, it’s not like you take a pill and it magically disappears. It is something you have to work on constantly. You have to take charge and don’t let self doubt control your life. Remember to always be the cheerleader of your life no one will believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself.