My Battle with Imposter Syndrome: How I Overcame My Inner Critic
Let’s face it, we all have imposter syndrome. It’s this feeling that we’re not good enough and feel that we don’t have the skills or capabilities to pull something off that’s challenging. I’ve been there before with competitive hip hop dance, and I’m currently there with my job as a UX designer.
The truth is, imposter syndrome is never gonna go away. No matter how skilled or knowledgable you are, you will face this fear of the unknown, and our jobs as humans is to work alongside it. It’s impossible to lose that feeling, so embracing that the pain is temporary is what’s going to get you through it.
There’s a lot of ways one deals with imposter syndrome, so take my advice with a grain of salt. Use my journey as inspiration for yourself, not as the “one true way to get rid of imposter syndrome.” Again, imposter syndrome cannot be taken away, but there’s methods to help cope with the feeling.
Acknowledging you have imposter syndrome
This is probably the toughest part because you may not realize that you have imposter syndrome if you’re going through it. Thoughts of giving up and feeling unmotivated are several key signs that you might be feeling like an imposter, but it’s hard to come to that conclusion if you can’t think straight.
During this time, it was important for me to write out how I was feeling and why I felt the way I felt. Maybe it was a project that I felt was too much for me to handle, or maybe I wasn’t meeting expectations at my job, or perhaps both.
Writing these things down and talking about them with someone was key in acknowledging it. After all, if those thoughts weren’t true, why would the person you’re talking to about it tell you otherwise?
Getting over the hump
Once I acknowledged I have imposter syndrome, it was time to deal with it. During this moment, I identified what was causing the imposter syndrome, and so I asked myself how can I suppress this feeling? Well, I did what I would’ve done if this was me a year ago: I would leverage my resources.
By asking for help, I was able to get the support and help I need in order to feel more confidence and reassure myself that I was on the right track. This helped not only reduce a lot of those negative thoughts, but it also helped refine my work.
It was an important step to make, and I’m glad I was able to not only take that step, but to also have the resources I needed in order to make it happen. It’s silly to think, but sometimes you forget that you have resources out there that can make your life less difficult.
Embracing the accomplishment
After accomplishing the very thing that was giving me imposter syndrome, all of the anxiety that was fed into my brain disappeared. It felt like all of those thoughts that were in my head were just made up worse-case scenarios, and that everything was better than expected.
Well, that’s exactly what happened because everything I was thinking was just fear of the unknown. And that’s okay, no one is going to know how things will end up, but you got to take those leaps of faith in order to figure those challenges out.
I thought I had that figured out when I decided to switch careers into UX, but it was just a reminder that it can still happen to me even if I accomplished my goal of becoming a UX designer. Now, I know what it felt like, so I can use that moment to learn and reflect on it in the future.
Moral of the story
Imposter syndrome sucks. I don’t think anyone in the world would agree that dealing with imposter syndrome is a fun time, but I think it’s necessary to help push us to become better versions of ourselves. What I’m doing today is something that I would’ve never been able to do a year ago, and that says something.
For those who are in the thick of imposter syndrome right now, whether it’s due to trying to get a new job, or get promoted within your company, remember that it’s a natural part of the process and that you’re growing no matter one. This is a reminder not only for you but for myself as well because we need this type of self love regardless of where we are in life.
If you need extra motivation or perspective on this topic, two great videos that I recommend watching are Matthew Encina’s “Start Before You’re Ready” TED Talk, and this Kobe Bryant “FEAR of FAILURE” motivation video. You can also watch an ADPList Roundtable that I hosted back when I was an ambassador for the platform where we talked about this very topic.
It’s hard to deal with imposter syndrome, but it’s not impossible. Keep going and I ensure you, you’ll make it to the other side.
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Wanted to chat with me? Feel free to use my Calendly to schedule a coffee chat where we can talk about UX, my journey, or anything Marvel/Star Wars related.
Looking for a mentor? There’s this awesome platform called ADPList where you can find people to guide you. This is where I found most of my mentors in my life.
