Discover 8 Surprising Signs of Impostor Syndrome Feeling like a fraud? You are not alone. Many people who are achievers in life share what you are feeling – fraud if not maybe thinking that it was all due luck. Impostor syndrome has been the major cause of many mediocre successes out there that resulted to big time failure. It is a toxic disbelief about self even though evidence show your competency, skills and talents. It is a very specific type of low self-esteem. For low self-esteem, may not allow you to function and achieve success. Impostor syndrome is different, success happens, sustaining it – rarely happens. From the Eutaptics belief system standpoint, impostor syndrome is definitely influenced by certain and important factors in early life. The memories that are held within the subconscious and the unconscious forms a specific structure supporting the syndrome. These memories are the creators and basis for our own personal belief systems and the basis for forming responses. During developmental stages where self-concept is being formed, a huge part of it became our primary circuit for understanding who we are. Implicit it nature, it can creep through every aspect of our lives without being consciously aware. Since it is a syndrome, it means it is combination of signs and symptoms.
The following are common signs of impostor syndrome: 1. Anticipating eventual exposure that you are a fake This is definitely rooted in having very low self-worth. People with impostor syndrome may achieve success and then feel they are undeserving. Although they are genuinely expert in their fields of expertise, they are paranoid to be pointed out as frauds or substandard. It is an inherent feeling of the need to panic because they might be unmasked for knowing too little. The damaging effects of stress and anxiety that one might reap due to this mental programming can spill over someone’s personal and social life.
2. It was all because of luck
Success is a mindset. Mindsets are the forerunners of our abilities; skills, talents and strengths. A person with impostor syndrome may never believe that they created their success. This is because they want to mask the innate fear that they cannot supersede their current success. Fear creates an illusion that it is not because of their abilities, hence ascribing their successes to luck make them step out of their comfort zone. But like any other action based on fear, it may work for a short while but it is exhaustible. In time, when major risks happen in life, adjusting and coping will definitely cause inability to sustain success.
3. Everyone can do it This is probably the greatest characteristic of impostor syndrome, creating a mental program that convince that everyone can do what you can. It is of course a lie deeply seated in the mind firing impulses to never reward self and stay out of the spotlight. There is virtue in humility – but this one right here, is not humility. It is a belief that discards one’s worth to be distinguished for unique skills. To be humble is simply subscribing to the fact that everyone can learn to be like you, and possibly do what you can. But never discarding your own accomplishments due to hard work and resilience to failure combined with the knowledge you have amassed. Recent studies show an alarming number of people who have advanced degrees and are trained in multiple certifications are those who are often suffering from impostor syndrome. That is why it is important to keep in check the meaning you personally attach to humility, for you may no longer be practicing humility and have gone very low to feeling like an impostor. You are unique and worthy – remember that always.
4. Claiming it was due to collaboration Being inherently uncomfortable with praise, impostor syndrome makes a person believe that all their accomplishments are due to the help of other people. Similar to above, because they think humility will mask their brilliance, they want even their personal successes be incurred to another person. There is no denying the power of collaboration, but in times when a project or anything that distinguishes success happens, it is healthier to take pride in it. It boosts self-improvement and destroy fear and other toxic beliefs about self. Hiding behind the shadows of other people seems like the perfect thing to do to hide “unworthiness.” And people with impostor syndrome often feel unworthy.
5. People are just being nice
When faced with praise and acknowledgement, most people suffering from impostor syndrome feel like those around them are just being nice. That is probably true and thank the situation that you have nice people around you. But them being nice does not equate to you being fake. Sadly, the mental program that a person with impostor belief is firing in the wrong direction. Praise for them means fearing being worthy. This is a very toxic way of living, to feel undeserving of being acknowledge.
6. Fear of failing Well we count many heads with this one. Of course, everyone fears failure. But those with impostor syndrome see this a way blown out of proportion. They result to working harder without causing them to lose their grip on other aspects of life. They can use work and their fear to fail as their best tool for avoidance behavior. They can be addicted to work not because of the successes but because of their fear of being exposed as unworthy. In some sense, it is like forming addiction around work just because they feel the need to prove their worth. Since it is unlikely to truly prove your worth to everyone in this planet this way, they can keep their minds functioning this way until exhaustion arrives. When it does, they can reach to a breakdown that may be difficult to overcome.
7. Minimizing languages Minimizing themselves when they speak is very evident for those suffering impostor syndromes. Even they are confident about what they are saying, they feel the need to minimize their knowledge through their speech. For example, instead of just saying, “I think…” they would use the phrase, “I kind of think…” This is because of the mental programming at play. Their minds are scared of taking their worth seriously, hence even their speech and behavior are altered causing them to say things not boldly even if they are equipped with all the knowledge to prove it. This can transcend to minimizing behavior, to simply let others to overtake you towards success even in cased you deserve it more.
8. I made it up As people with impostor syndrome continue to discredit themselves even though they have the pure knowledge to execute a brilliant plan, they would like the credit to be diverted to nonsense. Saying things like, “I did it not really thinking about it…” But when they do, they are not saying it with so much pride or cockiness. In fact, they say things like this to not make it something like a big deal, when in fact it is a big deal and it may even call for a celebration.
Breaking the Mental Program Impostor syndrome is a very damaging belief system and like all toxic belief systems it can be reimprinted, collapsed and transformed. Since the nature of impostor syndrome roots from imprints and structure supporting a negative mindset about self, Eutaptics is the best approach to overcome and transform it. Why? Eutaptics is a memory reimprinting process that involves pinpointing the imprints related to any problem. When the imprints are changed or reimprinted, all the supporting negative emotions are also released, ​allowing the person to achieve a more positive mindset with clear and strong self-concept aligned with feeling worthy.