UNDERSTANDING “IMPOSTOR SYNDROME”

Some few days ago I engaged with an acquaintance and stated that I was looking forward to learning from her. She was of the view that I can’t learn anything from her and raised a lot of issues related to poor self-worth. The truth of the matter though is that she was equally capable in a lot of aspects in her life which one could tap from. We will thus in this discussion touch on the concept of impostor syndrome which stems from the reflection on the earlier highlighted interaction.

Impostor syndrome is characterised by an assemblage of feelings of inadequacy that persist notwithstanding evident success. Those suffering from the syndrome are often characterised by having intense feelings of self-doubt that often supersedes the evidence of success and outright competence that is there for people to see. Whilst one may point out that this is a case of low self-esteem or poor self-confidence, some of those that are highly successful in life do experience the syndrome and are often perfectionists in their own sense. Most often than not, individuals suffering from “impostor syndrome” often downplay their success attributing it to just “mere” luck and not in any way tie it to their own abilities. Some may go to the extent of attributing success to their team members even when they deserve the compliment themselves! They may have feelings of having knowledge deficit in certain areas and not deserving of a promotion or post. When given responsibility, they work so hard to avoid failure lest people find out that “they are incompetent” yet they are qualified for the task at hand. Where does all this emanate from? This could be attributed towards parenting practices as some have been scolded for their failures in the past and deemed to be not competent over some tasks which can be replicated in adulthood. Still related to parenting, some individuals experience inadequacy in their performance that emanated from inconsistencies of being overpraised or being overly criticised hence not really sure of what is the right thing to do. Many grew from families that rooted for success and achievement at all costs which built the notion that their efforts are never enough. Some because of societal pressure may become doubtful of own abilities in carrying out assignments for fear of meeting the grade. We will discuss on how to deal with impostor syndrome in the next instalment.