What is Impostor Syndrome and How Do You Overcome It?
I don’t think I can do it.”
“Maybe I’m just not cut for it.”
“What if I fail?” (When you haven’t even started yet?)
Is there an inner antagonist within you who says these things?
If there is, then you must be suffering from what you call an Impostor Syndrome.
Let's define the syndrome:
It’s a bit common and I don’t mean to exaggerate, but we all suffer from it at some point.
It’s one of the biggest hindrances in our life. One day, you’re full of courage and optimism, and then the next day, you’re consumed with doubt. Maybe you made a mistake in leaving that job. Maybe they made a mistake in supporting your business ideas.
Or maybe not.
You feel like your knowledge and skills aren’t enough. You think you’re unqualified and because of all these ill feelings, you stop yourself from getting out of your comfort zone. You’re in a box where everything is so perfect already because you’ve been there for so long. Even trees stop growing in the piece of land that they’re planted and you’re not a tree. You’re so much capable of uprooting yourself and growing some more in better soil.
How do you overcome the feeling of inadequacy?
Tip #1: Work on your perspective
Coming from, say, a corporate job where you’re the Head of Marketing (this can be any position), there’s a certain sense of stability. You have a good position. You do the job that’s required of that position. You get paid. You don’t even have to worry about other departments.
One day, you wake up and think “I’m done with being an employee. I want to be my own boss.”
The excitement is overwhelming, and then it hits you when you realize that you’ll be overseeing all facets of your business. That’s a far cry from marketing! Suddenly, you start feeling incapable.
But do you know that when you’re new in the business, you can offer something that existing competitors probably don’t have? That’s a fresh perspective and even value.
Every one of us started somewhere and that’s not the top. No one is an expert on their first try and you will never know what you’re capable of if you’re afraid to start. When you go into a business, you’re more likely to think about your unique selling proposition. Newbies are often the ones who work on improving what’s existing.
Think INNOVATION.
Read: How to Stop Stressing About Things You Can’t Control in Your Solopreneur Business
Tip #2: Shift your mindset
From fretting about your performance, shift to a learning mindset.
The thing is, performance can be good or bad. You just jumped in solopreneurship. You’re bound to make a few mistakes, but just because something bad happens doesn’t mean that you have to give up.
When you’re focused on learning, you’ll see road bumps like this as a chance to improve instead of a reason to run away.
Tip # 3: You, me and them, we’ve been there
Believe me. I have doubted myself. The celebrities who look so confident on-screen have doubted themselves. Even the most successful entrepreneurs in the world have once felt like they can’t do it.
It’s not just you, and I’m not saying this to dismiss your feelings. They’re very much valid, but I want you to know that we were all there at some point (actually, moments like that can still come up), but we can overcome it and it’s easier to do that when you know others have struggled with it and pushed forward.
Final words…
It’s curable. Just fight it. Don’t allow it to push your confidence aside and think about how much more you can be. You are worthy and you are deserving.