The Imposter Syndrome

You want it, you need it, you know it, and then, within minutes, you start to feel anxiety. Your heart flutters, breath lightens, and your mind races with excuses how you are not good enough, don’t know enough or do not have the right skills. Suddenly you feel like you are an imposter, like you shouldn’t be applying for a job you are “not” qualified for, you don’t ask that person out on a date, you don’t go to the gym because it is just too hard. Boy, does your mind look for ways to fail. Why? Because doing nothing is easier than doing something, and the easiest way for your brain to convince you not to do it is by telling you that you can’t.

I’m here to tell you that you CAN! And I know how you feel; I have been there. I can perform on stage no problem, but when it comes to handing out resumes, my hands get clammy, my heart starts beating, and I start hyperventilating. My mind says, “who do you think you are? You think you deserve this?”. YOU DO. Do you think every successful person in life is always confident? Do you think that the musician you love or the football player who won the Superbowl got it easily? Do you think they never felt the way you do now? The truth is that everyone feels this way, sometimes all the time. The difference is They are listening to a different voice, the one in their mind that doesn’t tell them NO, but tells them WHAT IF?

The truth is the only difference between being an imposter, and being an expert, is your own perception of the situation. You have talents, and you have skills that you may not even know about! And if you feel that you don’t have them, you can always learn them! Today is such a great day for opportunity because all the information we would ever need is at our fingertips. Have an interview for a job that requires something you are unfamiliar with? Look it up. Worried about investing in the stock market? Look it up. Not sure how to build confidence in presentations? Look it up!

When we believe in ourselves and improve our capabilities, there is not a single thing that you can’t do. Those imposter thoughts will always be there, so prove them wrong, tell them that you have a bigger purpose, and tell them that you are better than they believe, because when it comes down to it, the only person who believes you are an imposter is you. You are the only one who can step up and tell that voice to go away and then show why you are an expert. Because if you believe deep down that you are a pro, an expert, that’s what you will be.

S. J. Sengotta