Today I’m going to be talking about the Imposter Syndrome. Now, if you’re like me, you’re may not even know what that’s about.
Have you ever felt that you’re not good enough, procrastinate in taking any action? Then maybe you’re suffering from the Imposter Syndrome.
I came across this when I was doing a challenge, and in there she asked us about why we procrastinate, what drives our procrastination, or what’s stopping us from getting on and taking action, and she referred us to a Periscope by Nicole Walters where she talks about this Imposter Syndrome and what it’s all about. When I listened to it, I recognised myself in many of the descriptions that she gave in her article.
The definition of the Imposter Syndrome is where high achieving persons are unable to internalise their own accomplishments, so they have a tendency to dismiss them, and they have a fear of being called out.
Now, I know that I do that in my life. I’m a CPA (Certified Practising Accountant) and the only time I have ever put up my certificates showing my accomplishments was when I was running my business and I was in Public Practice. The rest of the time, they’ve been sitting, in fact I think it was only when I went into business that I framed my certificates. The rest of the time they stay in the cupboard somewhere.
I tend to dismiss even the work that it took, and the sacrifices that I made to achieve those accomplishments and to get to where I have in the accounting field.
The other area that I know that I dismiss my achievements is in my energy work. My energy work is something that I have been involved with for as long as I have been in my accounting career but I chose to follow the accounting path at an early age, probably because it was a more acceptable form of career to follow.
When Nicole was giving her descriptions of how this can come about, where you have this Imposter Syndrome, there was an incident that came to mind and it was when I first got involved in the energy work and I was learning aromatherapy and we were doing a massage and our teacher said to me that I had really good hands, and I was really very good.
Of course I was flattered that she had complimented me on my ability and my skills that I had, but at that stage it was very early on in learning about these things and I actually had no idea what I was really doing. So I had this skill that she said, but I didn’t have this connection to it and no guidance as to what to do and how to go about using this.
There was almost this expectation that I would just know what to do, which was very, very far from how I felt. I felt I had to live up to this expectation of being good but having no guidance and never thinking to ask for some mentorship in how to go about it. My logical side always came into play of being able to operate from my head as opposed to operating from my heart and trusting my heart. This has been my whole path and now coming back to where I am and going back into my energy work, where I’ve focused on the accounting side, now I’m going back into the energy side.
When Nicole went into details of what The Imposter Syndrome can look like in your life, I knew that I had this problem. In the main it’s about preparing for opportunities without taking the final leap. My downfall, from the descriptions that she had is in taking courses, buying courses, and either not doing the courses that I’ve bought where they are online courses or going and doing training and not implementing it, just learning and feeling like I have to get another certification, I don’t know enough, I’m not going to be good enough. This total fear of not being good enough.
Comparing myself to other people in the field and thinking that I’m never going to be as eloquent as them in conveying the information. When someone asks a question that I’m not going to be able to answer them, I’m not going to have the answers and I’m going to feel like a fraud.
That is really so not true. I know that I have the skills. Where I have to grow is in dropping from my head into my heart, and coming from a place of love, not logic. Learning to tune in and trust my intuition. And know that I already have everything that I need.
To stop comparing myself to others and accept my gifts as being unique to me and that I can bring my own slant to them.
I share this story with you so that you know that, first of all, that you are not alone. That there are many people out there who suffer from it but taking that step I would encourage you, and I’d support you, in taking that step and going out there and doing what you love and knowing that you are good at it and you can do it.
You are not an imposter. We are all on a journey. We are all learning and every day we learn more and more. This isn’t necessarily intellectual knowledge that we’re talking about, but heart knowledge. Coming back to our true essence and journey into who we really are.
I really encourage you to not let your fears hold you back. Not let your fears of not being good enough hold you back. Step out in faith and do what you love.
Share with us below if you suffer from the Imposter Syndrome