Hey, Curlies!
The past year has offered me the opportunity to connect with amazing women. These are the go-getters, the movers, and shakers in their communities. One unfortunate trait I’ve noticed all goes back to imposter syndrome.
These are women who have achieved what others wish for in a lifetime, yet they struggle to accept their hard work. Once I noticed a pattern of this trait, I began to look inside myself and reflect on impostor syndrome.
What is Impostor Syndrome?
Those who have impostor syndrome believe there is no truth to their accomplishments and that they will be revealed as a fraud.
Confused? Here’s an example that may sound familiar.
Erin is the chief doctor of the ER at a leading hospital in her hometown. She’s won numerous awards for her service to the community. Despite her accomplishments, she feels like a fraud. When friends congratulate her, she chalks it all up to “luck.” Erin is constantly worried that she’s going to be “figured out.” She doesn’t believe her hard work has gotten her to where she is in life.
Sound familiar? Maybe you know a friend in a similar situation or maybe it’s you.
Impostor syndrome is real and very common among women. Despite all of the astonishing things we juggle on a daily basis, many of us feel like a fraud. We worry that someone is going to find out that we aren’t as extraordinary as we are.
My mouth dropped each time I heard amazing women not owning up to their accomplishments.
Sure, the example above speaks about a doctor, but it doesn’t mean you had to have gone to medical school to have impostor syndrome. This impacts many women, from stay-at-home moms to cashiers to CEOs.
My Impostor Syndrome Experience
During one of the latest Curls & Canvas events, we chatted about impostor syndrome. While many women had not heard of this term, most of them knew the feeling.
Impostor Syndrome is something I’ve dealt with in the past and still do from time-to-time. My personal situation is a little diluted. I know I’ve accomplished some amazing things. I also know that I’ve worked my butt off to get there. What I struggle with is accepting those accomplishments when others praise them out loud.
Over the years, there has been a handful of things I’ve started to do to help overcome impostor syndrome.
Tips for Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
I recently gave a group of women some advice I hope you’ll find helpful on how to deal with impostor syndrome.
- Accept those compliments. No more waving your hand and saying “no, no” when someone gives you a compliment. Think about it. Giving a compliment takes a lot of work for someone to do. Especially in society today. Someone took the time to say something nice to you. Simply say “thank you” and move on.
- Write down your achievements. Many times we think “luck” has been on our side because we don’t realize how awesome we truly are. Take some time to write down all you have done and you’ll see the list is quite long. This is why I create a positivity jar each year (photo above). Here’s how to make your own.
While this list is short (I like to keep things simple), they are actionable things you can do to jumpstart your progress toward dealing with impostor syndrome.
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