Do you suffer from “imposter syndrome”?

Experts offer quick strategies that’ll help you give credit where it’s due…to you!

Have you ever had a really big win— like landing your dream job or being nominated for a prestigious award—but instead of being filled with joy and confidence, you feel an undercurrent of doubt, stress and anxiety? And despite your triumph, you have a nagging feeling that you don’t actually deserve the success…and even fear others will eventually discover you’re faking it or you’re a fraud?

“This is called ‘imposter syndrome,’ and it describes an experience of millions of competent, capable people who have a hard time owning their achievements,” explains Valerie Young, Ed.D., author of The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women. “Instead, they attribute their successes to factors outside of themselves, like luck and timing, explain their accomplishments away by saying things like, ‘Well, it wasn’t that hard’ or minimize their victories by thinking things like, I achieved this, but it’s only because I have to work harder than others.”

Often the fix for self-doubt is to reflect on past wins, but Young cautions that tactic doesn’t work with imposter syndrome because the problem is our self-talk, not our résumés. “People who don’t feel like imposters are no more intelligent, capable or competent than the rest of us,” observes Young. “Their secret: They build themselves up by fully claiming their accomplishments.” Here, find the imposter syndrome symptom you identify with and read on for strategies that’ll shift your mind-set from stressed to self-assured.