What is the Impostor Syndrome and why capable woman suffer from it? LatinaVIDA just nails it with these simple but powerful ways to change your fears into good habits that will give you confidence and trust in your self-worth.
Guest post by www.LatinaVIDA.org
“You can have all the confidence in the world and still be reluctant to self-promote out of a steadfast belief that a person’s work should speak for itself. It doesn’t.”
― Valerie Young
- Do you suffer from a fear that somehow others might see you as less than capable for your job?
- Are you often thinking that others see through your achievements to an inadequate set of skills?
- Do you panic that you might get questioned about your qualifications–even though you’ve been doing the job for years?
There’s a name for this and it’s called The Impostor Syndrome.
While this general anxiety can strike anyone at different times in their career–especially high achievers–it is women and particularly women of color that are more prone to these ruminations and self-doubt.
It means that despite having completed degrees, received awards or achieving key milestones in your professional role–somehow you have not integrated these achievements with your sense of self.
The net result of Impostor Syndrome is that you may limit what you seek to do or speak less favorably about your potential. Suffer no more!
Uno, dos y tres. Let’s do this con ganas!
Monitor the Self Talk
The Impostor speaks loudly–in your head! We all process events and circumstances around us and often label them in an endless range of dimensions: good/bad, strong/weak, focused/scattered. Keep a journal of what you say to yourself about your workday or your achievements and look for patterns. Based on what you see, you may need to reframe those thoughts and develop affirmations, mantras or simple reminders to paint a more accurate picture of yourself. “I am strong, wise and ready to achieve more”, “I’ve got what it takes to rock this day.” Write this down now or say it out loud now and notice the impact it gives you.
Expand your view of self-worth beyond the role you play at work
It’s easy at certain times in your career to center just on your workplace achievements to the exclusion of all else. If you’ve not spent much time with friends or family because of a grueling work project, that may be one reason that work seems to overshadow all other aspects of your view of your whole self. Get to your friends and trusted advisors to hear a more balanced view of your strengths. Ask others to highlight for you what you do well, your superpowers, and your strengths. A little bit of pampering with your BFFs goes a long way to reframe your views that you are successful at many things.
Work with a Performance Coach
The hard work of succeeding as a professional accountant, lawyer, therapist, marketing analyst, engineer, physician, project manager–enter your job here–is no different than being an athlete. Training for a marathon is both physical and mental. It may be wise to sit down with a coach who can listen to what triggers your self-doubt or your negative messages and learn new ways to redirect those thoughts and build your confidence in new ways.
That’s it.
Live Your VIDA with Intention. For additional information visit www.LatinaVIDA.org
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