Today I wanted to talk about the dreaded imposter syndrome. If there’s anything that I think causes people to feel that inner sense of discomfort and then shame, it’s that imposter voice.
What the imposter voice is
Imposter voice is the voice within you that tells you that no matter how much success you are having, you’re secretly not enough. I have known people who are so successful. If you saw what they have done on paper, you would say, “That person’s got to feel amazing!” But they don’t feel they are enough, despite the evidence.
Why success doesn’t silence it
Just because we succeed, we have success, we have all the boxes checked, just because things look a certain way doesn’t mean they’ll feel as good. So we go after that next award, we go after that bestselling book, we try to get the promotion at work, we launch a business, we work so hard, we see a future where we feel better.
Postponing feeling good
We may even have an image of ourselves walking around relaxed in the future. Maybe we think retirement is when we’re going to feel good. Any way in which you are putting off feeling good today for the future, that feeling that “when I get there, when I check these boxes, I will feel good,” you’ve bought into your impostor voice. You are accepting you are not enough today.
What if it’s not true?
I bought into this. I literally think it’s an epidemic, but what if it’s not true?
Frequently asked questions
What is imposter syndrome?
The voice within you that says that, no matter how much success you have, you’re secretly not enough.
Why doesn’t success make the imposter voice go away?
Because checking the boxes doesn’t mean things will feel as good, so we keep chasing the next goal and postpone feeling good to the future.
How do you know you’ve bought into the imposter voice?
Whenever you put off feeling good today until you “get there” or check certain boxes.