Yesterday’s post defined Imposter Syndrome; today’s post looks at ways that we can begin to challenge those pervasive thoughts.
Because Imposter Syndrome is defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that tend to persist despite evidence of success, one of the ways we can begin to challenge the underlying fraudulent feelings is to focus on the evidence of success. We can begin by writing down our accomplishments both at home and at work as a way to objectively view our own proficiency. This challenges our core belief of inadequacy.
Another way to challenge these feelings is to begin to understand how they formed in the first place. What was your experience growing up in terms of achievement and success? What were both the spoken and unspoken rules in your family as to how success was measured and how did you fit into those rules?
When we can combine both an understanding of how imposter syndrome may have developed and the factual account of our success, we can begin to recognize that the beliefs of inadequacy we have held onto for so long are historical and no longer serving a purpose for us. From there, we can begin to consciously replace our automatic thoughts with more accurate affirmations; leading to a more realistic view of our accomplishments.
“I bring value to this organization.”
“I deserve the respect I have earned at work/home.”
“I am successful because I work hard.”
“I am accomplished.”
Changing our core beliefs can be challenging at first, but with practice and persistence, we can get there – freeing ourselves from their perpetual cycle; one positive affirmation at a time 🙂
Photo credit:https://unsplash.com/@trommelkopf