Picture this: you\u2019ve recently been hired at a respected company you\u2019ve wanted to work at for a while. You\u2019re happy at first, but something within you keeps you from celebrating wholeheartedly. It\u2019s an inner voice you\u2019re all too familiar with, telling you that you don\u2019t really deserve this new position. You play out the interview in your head over and over, thinking it must\u2019ve been a good day, a lucky coincidence, and really, you just fooled the interviewers. It\u2019s only a matter of time until they realize they hired the wrong person for the job and that you\u2019re actually unqualified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have you ever heard the phrase, you are your own worst enemy? The scenario we describe above hints at something similar \u2013 a new hire receives the external confirmation and validation they seek, but it\u2019s still not enough to silence the negative self-talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is this something you also grapple with from time to time? Do you find celebrating other people\u2019s successes easier than your own and tend to downplay your achievements or attribute them to sheer luck? If all of these ring true, chances are you\u2019re no stranger to the phenomenon called impostor syndrome<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Impostor syndrome, also known as the impostor experience or phenomenon, is a thought pattern in which people doubt their capabilities and success and constantly fear being exposed as phonies. It was first coined by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanna Imes in the 1970s, following their study of a group of high-achieving women who, no matter how much they excelled in their respective fields, continued to question their competence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We have since learned that it\u2019s a much more widespread phenomenon than initially believed and affects people from all walks of life. It\u2019s not limited to a specific gender, race, or profession. However, minorities find themselves grappling with it more frequently. This is not a reflection of their abilities but rather a result of societal factors that make them feel like outsiders, undeserving and unworthy of the place and status they\u2019ve earned.<\/p>\n\n\nWhat is impostor syndrome? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n