Imposter Syndrome
What Is Imposter Syndrome?
There is something to the term “Imposter Syndrome” that causes an unexpected majority of people to see themselves in it. Why is it so popular and prevalent? Why do so many people have difficulty taking credit for their achievements, or if they do accept credit, owning and enjoying it? Rather, people who identify themselves with this term either feel they come by their success by luck, by timing, by some other factor than their own inherent qualities. In essence, they feel fraudulent, and looming over their conscience like a sword of Damocles is the expectation of being exposed. The relative size of the sword varies — it could be a faint, barely discernible sense of insecurity for some, or a full-sized irrational expectation for others.
Who Suffers From Imposter Syndrome?
The particulars of a personal history whereby one came to experience self-doubt or deserving are as varied as there are individuals. The original research was begun in the 1970s, for example, to study why so many women taking up professional positions so severely questioned their own legitimacy. The answer to that question, in hindsight, is clear. It was a totally credible reaction to traditional, cultural and societal conditions that existed decades or even millennia, where the message was that women did not belong in the professional sphere. It makes sense that no amount of accomplishment easily closes the gap. It is not only women though, who also suffer that gap between outer achievement and inner pride. Even if their sense of imposterism is not triggered by the exact same condition described by the original study, then something else happened in their lives that causes someone, justifiably, to worry about their entitlement to credit and social capital.
Why Does It Occur?
Gradually closing that gap does not come by force or will. Friends and colleagues who with good intention tell one to “stop” feeling this way do nothing to dispel the doubt, at least not for long. Neither a recitation of achievements nor a logical counterargument to the inner one sways a person genuinely in the grips of an imposter syndrome psychology. The celebrated actress Meryl Streep and the Nobel writer John Steinbeck are reported to have suffered from it. Rather, the door to change is through genuine curiosity about the structure of the doubt itself. Who taught you to be uncertain about yourself in this way? What were the conditions? How much of what you “know” about your limitations is actually true, and how much is old conditioning that has simply never been examined? Understanding where it came from and what keeps it in place is the necessary stepping stone to crossing the brook.
Once crossed, many people find that what — or rather who — they find on the other side is considerably worthier of credit than they had assumed.
For a deeper exploration, see: The Impostor Question — an article that examines both the visible and quieter forms of this experience.
See also the case illustrations: Elise, Bradley, and Luka — three very different people navigating it.