Mindfulness
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Imposter Syndrome Unmasked We’ve all been there. Preparing to lead a meeting or presentation, meet with that new client or starting the interview, and the thought goes through our head, “what the hell am I doing?”. The insidious voices from the depths of our insecurity tell us that we are unprepared, inadequate, incapable and about to fail. We try to push the thoughts away and “fake it ‘til we make it”, but the echoes of perceived shortcoming ring in our minds, unable to validate our best efforts. Imposter Syndrome. The feeling and belief that our successes are not inherently tied to our determination, skill or intelligence; rather some stroke of luck or universal oversight has landed us in our current position. That we don’t really know what we are doing or deserve to be where we are, that we are essentially a fraud masquerading as a successful professional. This does not discriminate, as well known politicians, authors, actors and executives have all disclosed struggling with these thoughts and feelings. Recent research has posited 20-30% of high achieving adults have this experience. And unfortunately, this experience disproportionately impacts women and people of color.
