Stop Feeling Like an Imposter How To Succeed at Being Your Authentic Self

By Kelly Carson, Editor

You walk into a room of hair-care professionals just like you. You're armed with all the latest certificates and up-to-date training. But you are suddenly wracked with fear and wondering whether you belong.

Are you good enough? Are you smart enough? Do you have enough experience to run with this crowd?

Those types of questions are all part of imposter syndrome. The Harvard Business Review defines imposter syndrome as: "doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud. It disproportionately affects high-achieving people, who find it difficult to accept their accomplishments. Many question whether they're deserving of accolades."

WebMD gives a brief history of imposter syndrome that is easy to understand.

"In 1978, psychologists Suzanne Imes and Pauline Rose Clance first described imposter syndrome in high-achieving professional women. More recently, experts have found that it's common among both men and women in many lines of work.

One study found that about 70% of all people have felt like an imposter at some point. Imposter syndrome often affects those who are highly capable perfectionists. Among those reported to have felt this kind of self-doubt are scientist Albert Einstein, athlete Serena Williams, singer Jennifer Lopez, and actors Natalie Portman, Lupita Nyong’o, and Tom Hanks.

"Studies show that those who are different from most of their peers, such as women in high-tech careers or firstgeneration college students, are more likely to have imposter syndrome. Research has also found that imposter syndrome is common among Black American, Asian American, and Latinx college students in the United States."

The American Psychological Association reports that "up to 82% of people face feelings of impostor phenomenon, struggling with the sense they haven’t earned what they’ve achieved and are a fraud. These feelings can contribute to increased anxiety and depression, less risk-taking in careers, and career burnout."

“There’s an ongoing fear that’s usually experienced by high-achieving individuals that they’re going to be ‘found out’ or unmasked as being incompetent or unable to replicate past successes,” said Audrey Ervin, a clinical psychologist in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, said in an APA article published online. She is also the academic director of Delaware Valley University’s graduate counseling psychology program.

The American Psychological Association offers seven strategies to help overcome impostor feelings, which we have condensed here.