3 ‘Hail Mary’ Strategies to Overcome Imposter Syndrome for Good
And defeat your inner critic once and for all
Go on, admit it.
You secretly doubt a lot of your accomplishments.
You tell yourself you’re not capable or intelligent or creative enough to actually do what you’ve been doing — and you fear one day someone will call you out and expose you as the ‘fraud’ you think you are.
The good news?
It’s all nonsense — every single bit of it.
But even then, you wish battling the self-doubt wasn’t quite so… difficult.
Fortunately for you, it just got a whole lot easier.
Here are 3 of the most powerful ways to shut down your inner-critic and defeat that dreaded imposter syndrome once and for all.
1) Acknowledge it
First of all, let’s get something straight…
These thoughts of yours are completely unfounded. Period.
You think you’re not good enough or worthy enough or talented enough to do what you’ve been doing… so why the heck are you even here, then?
You must be doing something right… right?
The only problem is that you’re not recognizing that in yourself.
So here’s the deal:
You’ve gotta start acknowledging your worth.
And here’s you’re gonna do it…
Any time a thought or feeling of fraud pops up in your mind, write it down. Then, once it’s written down, your next step is to write the truth about it.
For example…
Maybe you start thinking to yourself “I don’t deserve this promotion.”
So you write that down and start thinking about the truth behind it.
Then, maybe you write down something like this…
“Actually, I do deserve this promotion. I’ve been working my butt off day in and day out to get here. I’ve done extra work at home, I’ve gone the extra mile, I’ve taken courses so I can be more proficient at what I do. I’ve wanted this for so long and I’ve prepared myself to get here. I do deserve this!”
What you’re doing here is reframing your original thought.
You’re training your mind to flip a false belief into its truthful counterpart.
And if you actually follow through with this exercise, what you’re going to find (more often than not) is that you’re much more prepared and deserving than you think you are. You just needed a little kick in the tush to realize it.
So…
When imposter syndrome rears its ugly head, write down your thoughts and then dismantle each one of those thoughts with reasons why it’s all just a load of self-imposed BS. Got it?
If you do this, I promise your belief in yourself will begin to soar.
2) Ease yourself into imperfection
That’s right — imperfection.
How does that word make you feel?
For many, imperfection simply isn’t an option.
Everything MUST be perfect.
But guess what?
Imposter syndrome and perfectionism go hand in hand.
They’re buddies… pals… two peas in a pod, even.
Where you find one, you’ll usually find the other.
And that’s the problem.
Perfectionists tend to hold themselves to impossible standards — they expect themselves to accomplish every task flawlessly and have no room for error.
If something’s not perfect, it’s a failure — and that’s when imposter syndrome typically creeps in.
Even worse?
If you wait for everything to be perfect, chances are good you’ll rarely get anything done — you’ll overwork yourself trying to get everything just right… and your energy, productivity, drive, and output will suffer because of it.
Don’t do that to yourself.
Instead, ease your way into imperfection.
Finish a project before you deem it ‘perfect.’
Deliver something that isn’t quite as meticulous as you’d like.
If you continue allowing yourself to believe that everything must be perfect… you’re inviting imposter syndrome to take over your thoughts and highlight every area that you’re inadequate and doing something wrong.
This is a one-way ticket to a first-class breakdown.
Understand this and then start giving yourself room to make more errors… allow yourself to deliver something that isn’t quite perfect… and give yourself the gift of allowing imperfection into your life.
Because guess what?
You’re perfectly imperfect just the way you are. Period.
You always have been and you always will be.
And when you start allowing more imperfection into your life, you’ll start taking away the power that imposter syndrome has over you.
It might seem counterintuitive, but it’s true.
Your perfectionism has been feeding the imposter syndrome beast all along — and if you want to overcome it, you’ll have to convince yourself that doing less, in this case, is actually more.
So go ease yourself into that imperfection and watch as those feelings of inadequacy slowly start to melt away.
3) Dive a little deeper
When all else fails and you’re still feeling unworthy…
… it’s time to dive a little deeper and expand your knowledge further.
Because guess what?
You might actually be an imposter.
Or, better yet, you might not actually have the skills required to do what you’re doing effectively and successfully.
It happens more often than you think…
People get thrown into positions they aren’t prepared for.
People lie about their experience to get jobs they don’t know how to do.
People jump into roles requiring skills they don’t yet possess.
It’s certainly not uncommon.
And if that’s you, then you better find out how to fill that gap…
… and you better find out how to fill it quick.
Not because you’re going to get called and reprimanded for your lack of knowledge and experience (though, that could happen) — but rather, because the toll that imposter syndrome takes is often more than you think.
Lost sleep.
Severe anxiety.
Irritability and agitation.
An overwhelming sense of fear.
Constantly second guessing yourself.
It’s not pretty — and it can actually be quite destructive.
But luckily for you, there’s an easy way to avoid this.
And the way to do that is by diving into what you’re doing as deep as you possibly can.
Read books.
Take courses.
Find a mentor.
Learn from the best.
Do whatever it takes to become as proficient as possible.
The more you learn, the more confident you’ll become.
You’ll have more faith in yourself.
You’ll feel more valuable.
And best of all…
… your feelings of inadequacy will begin to fade.
There’s no better way to combat imposter syndrome than making damn sure you’re as prepared as you need to be to effectively do what you need to do.
Commit to mastery and the rest is history.
And there you have it…
… 3 of the most powerful ways to overcome imposter syndrome and shut down your inner critic for good.
If nothing else seems to be working for you, then try these strategies on for size and see how they make you feel — chances are you’ll find the relief you’re looking for in the process of working through 1 or all 3 of these methods.
Consider them the Hail Mary strategies that clear everything up and get you get you back on the right track.
Because here’s the thing…
You ARE worthy. You ARE capable. And you CAN overcome this.
All it takes is a little effort on your part to get there — and it’s my sincere hope that these strategies can help to lead the way.
Go get ’em, Tiger.
One last thing…
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