Confronting Imposter Syndrome: Navigating Self-Doubt and Embracing Your Achievements

Sheryl Sandberg once said, “Every time I didn’t embarrass myself — or even excelled — I believed that I had fooled everyone yet again. One day soon, the jig would be up … This phenomenon of capable people being plagued by self-doubt has a name — the impostor syndrome. Both men and women are susceptible to the impostor syndrome, but women tend to experience it more intensely and be more limited by it.”

Ever feel, despite all evidence to the contrary, that you're not quite good enough, that you don't really know what you're doing, that you're going to be found out as an imposter?

When I found myself in corporate, surrounded by people with letters after their names, I felt like I was never quite enough. That everyone else must know more and be better than me. Because all I'd done was work my way up through the ranks. I ditched University halfway through and got a job in Paris, so I never had the letters, the degree!

Even when I was promoted, brought in to rescue projects, built a new department and team, and delivered £2.2 million of profit in one year, I always felt like I was never really enough.

It's a really uncomfortable feeling, that constant nagging in the back of your mind: "I can't do this. Who the hell do I think I am?"

And it never really goes away. Even now, when I've ticked off so many of those challenges:

- ✅ Left my soul-sucking corporate job

- ✅ Bought a house in the sun

- ✅ Moved to a Greek Island

- ✅ Started a business

- ✅ Reached £10k months

I still have those thoughts. Not every day anymore, but still often enough to have to constantly remind myself of how to manage them.

So here's some key things that I've found help:

1. Recognize the Challenge: Ask yourself, is this a new challenge that I'm freaking out about? If so, it’s those devils in your mind, trying to get you to stay in the comfortable lane you're in. Remind yourself that this happens every time and you've got through it before.

2. Create a "Brag" File: Write down your successes and when you're feeling like you're rubbish, go back through it and read them. We always forget how much we've accomplished in the constant striving for the next thing.

3. Take Action: One small action because if we're busy doing, there's less space left in your head for all those devilish thoughts to overwhelm you.

At the end of the day, I don’t know if I’ll ever get rid of feeling like I’m not quite good enough. Every uncomfortable challenge brings those feelings back up again, in their sneaky little ways!

But what I do know, is that if I give in to it, let these feelings hold me back, then I won’t move forward. And then I won’t have that chilled out, simple, joyful life that I dreamed of!

Imposter syndrome may be a persistent companion, but it doesn’t have to dictate your journey. Embrace your achievements, remind yourself of your worth, and keep moving forward. Your dreams are worth the effort.