Feeling the Impostor Syndrome? Likely, You Are Much Further Ahead Than You Thought.

It's time to realize that you are stuck in the middle of a paradox.

You've worked hard for years. You've never counted the hours. Your hard work is finally rewarded with a position of great responsibility in your company. A position that you would never have dared to hope for. Indeed, you have this annoying tendency to doubt your abilities. You are human, and it is, therefore, normal to have such feelings from time to time.

Unfortunately, in your case, it goes further. Your doubts about your abilities and your personal and professional accomplishments make you not feel credible in the role that you've worked so hard to achieve.

You are probably suffering from what is called impostor syndrome.

The impostor syndrome causes you to constantly devalue yourself for fear of disappointing others

You simply feel that everything that others positively think of you is not justified. You are afraid of disappointing all those people around you. Fear that they will eventually discover that you are a total fraud.

If you took a step back, you would realize how foolish these thoughts are. After all, you haven't stolen anything from anyone. Everything you have achieved is deserved, as it is the result of your hard work. But the problem is that you are unable to take a step back from yourself. As a result, you have a false image of yourself, and you unconsciously choose to put yourself down.

You have become your enemy by always judging yourself negatively when you should be your greatest ally in life. It's hard enough to succeed in life, so if on top of that, you start playing against yourself, your chances are virtually nil.

The problem is that once you get into this impostor syndrome, it's very hard to get out. Yet, if you think about it, the fact that you have this feeling is proof that you are far ahead of your goals than you imagined.

Everyone believes in you, except you. It's time to get out of the paradox you're stuck in

The impostor syndrome is really what you might call a paradox. This observation does not come from me, but Adam Grant himself. Here are the interesting observations he suggests we reflect on:

“Impostor syndrome is a paradox:

-Others believe in you
-You don't believe in yourself
-Yet you believe yourself instead of them

If you doubt yourself, shouldn't you also doubt your judgment of yourself?

When multiple people believe in you, it might be time to believe them.”

The summary of your situation is quite eloquent. Others believe in you. This is what makes you feel so bad. You are afraid of disappointing them in one way or another by not living up to their expectations. This makes you doubt yourself.

Yet you believe yourself when you devalue yourself, while everyone else thinks otherwise of you. Since you doubt yourself by devaluing yourself, why are you going to believe this negative judgment about yourself that goes against what everyone else thinks about you?

This is where the paradox appears. If everyone around you believes in you to the point that you come to doubt yourself, it's probably time to open your eyes: you are not an impostor!

You are far more advanced than you thought. You're better than you think you are, and it's time to acknowledge that and stop the feeling of devaluation that's only holding you back. Once you realize the paradox you've been stuck in, then you'll be able to contribute even more to all those who believe in you.

Most importantly, you can finally become your greatest ally in life by having complete confidence in yourself.