I'm an Imposter - get me out of here!

In my last article I talked about the 5 types of imposter syndrome we can all hide behind and called out talking about it as the #1 way of demystifying its hold on you (and others).

Here are some straightforward ideas you can put into practice now.

·      Rewrite your internal script – by changing the way you ‘talk’ to yourself, for example, from 'these people know so much more than me, I'll look a fool' to 'these people are brilliant, I'm going to learn so much' or 'I may not know all the answers but I'm smart enough to find out'.

·      Check your language – do you say things like ‘All I did was…’, ‘I only did…’ or ‘My input was just to…’? Phrases like these devalue your contribution. Other people will pick up on this - and the sentiment beneath it – and similarly downgrade your work. Lead them in the opposite direction with language that talks up the value of what you do. Practise this beforehand until it becomes natural.

·      Stand up and stretch before you go into a meeting or on a call – especially important in the Zoom meeting era where many of us are in back to back meetings with no time to stretch or move, as we might have done in the office. Sitting in front of a laptop reduces us to a 'low power' pose (think fight/ flight/ freeze or fold response). It increases cortisol, the stress hormone. This in turn reduces our ability to think creatively and problem solve and reinforces any sense of being an imposter. Standing and walking around changes the chemical balance in the body and help release testosterone, the confidence-releasing hormone.

·      Smile – a smile spurs a chemical reaction in the brain, releasing certain hormones including dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine increases our feelings of happiness. Serotonin release is associated with reduced stress. The movement of muscles in our face when we smile releases endorphins, which trigger a positive feeling. These endorphins lower stress levels, which improves our mood. The more we smile and stimulate our brain to release this chemical, the happier we will feel, and the more confident we come across to others.

·      And breathe – the shortest (even one minute!), simplest breathing exercises can help reduce anxiety and calm our nervous system. When we breathe in, we activate the sympathetic nervous system (our stress response) and when we breathe out, we activate our parasympathetic nervous system (our relaxation response). This also gives us some time and space to think of a more helpful response when we're caught up in imposter syndrome feelings.

There's no silver bullet - you're not going to read this article, watch a webinar, listen to a podcast and all of a sudden your imposter syndrome disappears. It isn't that easy. But you can manage it, take control and not let it overwhelm you.