How To Deal With Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome occurs when you constantly feel like you have to justify your right to have a seat at the table--even though you already have one. Imposter syndrome is a phenomenon you must overcome in your life, or it will hinder your forward progress and keep you in a perpetual state of doubt and questioning your value. You are there, and you have earned your way into your spot, but you can't get past the feeling that you are still battling for a position or that you need to prove your right to a job – the right to speak, the right to make your salary – the list goes on. 

Recognize The Power of the Problem

One of the most significant issues stemming from imposter syndrome is its power to erode your confidence. When this happens, you feel like a loser, and you may be telling yourself that you are, and you must stop these self-defeating behaviors immediately and move past them to find success. 

This type of negative self-talk can do real damage over time and is detrimental to your confidence because if you continually tell yourself you are a loser and feel like you don't have a right to be here, you are continuously challenged to feel that you belong. How can you ever show up at your very best and be the amazing person you can be if you doubt your worth and right to be present? You can't. So you must find a way to overcome this feeling because it has the power to keep you from thriving.

Do What You Say You Will Do

If you want to overcome feeling like a failure and a loser, keeping your word to yourself is the best place to start. Few things are more frustrating than when people make promises and don't follow through on their commitments. When this happens, it creates questions about trustworthiness and your ability to rely on that person. This can present itself in multiple ways – maybe they are consistently late, say they are coming and don't show up, say they will bring something and don't bring it, forget to do what they said they would do – you know this list; it's always the same story. 

When you act this way, it leaves others feeling frustrated and unimportant, and you feel like you failed because you are letting yourself down. You begin calling yourself names – You are unreliable; You're a loser – It's confirmation that you are no good and that nothing you ever touch will be any good. This erodes your confidence so badly because your lack of commitment and follow-through becomes mounting evidence that you cannot succeed, and you begin to believe you are not worthy of success.

Refuse to Let Circumstances Define You

I was $135,000 in debt, an immigrant, and a single mom who fought to put food on the table. I lived through fires, floods, riots, an earthquake, lawsuits, a tsunami, and 9/11…it just kept coming and coming, and coming, and coming. At any point in these overwhelming circumstances, it would have been so easy to throw my hands up and say, "I'm a loser. Nothing I ever touch goes right, and I want to quit!" Yet what did I do? I refused to be defined by my circumstances. I was determined to define my circumstance myself. I hunkered down, and I did the work. And when I got out of it, I sold my business for millions of dollars to Bill Gates. It is a true story. What is it that makes me keep getting up again and again? It's my refusal to give up and allow my present circumstances to determine my future; you have this very same power in your life. 

Perseverance is Key

If you want to overcome imposter syndrome, you must embrace perseverance, regardless of your current circumstances. You must keep your word to yourself, always. If you say it, do it. If you say you are going -- go. If you say you are committed to something – be committed. If you say you're going to make money – commit to the process. If you say you're going to fix your lead generation and follow-up, you must refuse to stop until you've done it because the consequences of starting and stopping, starting and stopping, are constantly bringing you down and keeping you from succeeding. Begin with a commitment to yourself, and win with your follow-through. 

As the Growth Architect, my job as a strategist is to help you reach your goals by understanding how your mindset, growth, and business strategies work together. If you want to hear more about overcoming imposter syndrome, learn to keep commitments, hold yourself accountable to do what you say you will do, and build your motivation, watch my video.

Let's grow,

Beate