Can the "impostor syndrome" work for you?

<span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Pam Gilberd for <strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.SuccessTelevision.com%20">SuccessTelevision</a></strong><br> <br> Feeling like an impostor becomes a healthy way to expand your comfort zone, take risks, and be creative. First, you might feel really uncomfortable. That is the point.</span>&nbsp; <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">“For the first six or eight months I felt very insecure—it was the “Impostor Syndrome”—would people find out? When people started asking for <em>my</em> opinion I got more confident. I realized that the things I took for granted that everyone knew, everyone did not,” Michele McCormick, founder, MMC Communications.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Even when we know that <strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.successtelevision.com/index.php/Relationship/Relationships/having-courage-to-life-an-authentic-life-even-when-you-re-afraid.html"> risk taking</a></strong> is an essential part of career self-reliance and life in</span><img src="http://www.successtelevision.com/images/stories/success_images/publicity.jpg" alt="stretching past your comfort zone" align="right" width="222" height="222"> <span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">general, we may still feel awkward in new situations. We know we need to stretch ourselves, but when we push beyond <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.successtelevision.com/index.php/Wisdom/Insights/core-confidence-and-deserving-success.html"> <strong>our comfort zone</strong></a> we often feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. Psychologists label this fear the “Impostor Syndrome.” “Impostor” here has negative connotations that go beyond deceiving others. It encompasses a fear of not being good (or skilled or knowledgeable or experienced) enough—and even worse, being found out.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">People afflicted with this syndrome lack confidence in their skills, even if their qualifications and education are outstanding. They find themselves obsessively overcompensating for their perceived deficits. <strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.successtelevision.com/index.php/Career/Work/Success-and-Reality.html"> Successful people</a></strong> learn to go ahead even when they feel like impostors, knowing they will gain confidence and whatever else is required along the way. In fact, feeling like an impostor becomes a healthy way to expand their comfort zones, take risks, and be creative. That is what Michele McCormick did—and the results have been impressive.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">When Michele first opened her public relations business she was full of self-doubt, even though she knew her experience working in other public relations agencies and as a freelance writer made her more than qualified. “For the first six or eight months I felt very insecure—it was the “Impostor Syndrome”—would people find out? When people started asking for <em>my</em> opinion I got more confident. I realized that the things I took for granted that everyone knew, everyone did not.” As she worked to build her agency, Michele expanded her experience and her sense of herself. She says, “The underlying benefit of having my business is that it enhanced my self-confidence.” Within three years her company ranked in the top twenty-five PR agencies in</span> <span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Sacramento</span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">,</span> <span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">California</span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Michele had been a freelance writer during the years her husband was transferred all over the world as an Army officer. She had held jobs as an editor of an overseas English language newspaper, a tour director in an Army travel office, a radio news producer for an all-news station, and a fundraiser for charitable causes. “Some of the principles I learned from my many other jobs became very important lessons for my business: Get paid when you perform, sell every article, and persuade people to talk to you.<span>&nbsp;</span> I learned a lot about a variety of topics.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Michele got over her fear of the Impostor Syndrome when she realized and gave herself credit for all of the knowledge she possessed. “Before I started my business, I hadn’t realized how much my accumulation of skills played into what I do every day in PR.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Realizing that the Impostor Syndrome is a natural part of many job and career changes may help us feel less awkward. When we feel like an impostor, it is important to recognize that it may be more <strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.successtelevision.com/index.php/Wisdom/Insights/thriving-through-self-awareness-and-being-alert.html"> feeling than reality</a>.</strong> That is when it pays to remember that the Impostor Syndrome is a temporary (and often brief) stage, uncomfortable but necessary as we adjust to new circumstances and challenges. Successful people are willing to live and learn from this awkward syndrome because they trust their abilities.</span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Top three points to calm the qualms of the Impostor Syndrome:</span></strong></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Reflect on how past experiences—no matter how varied—can help you in new job situations.</span></li> <li><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Consider all your accumulated knowledge from education and life as unique things you can offer.</span></li> <li><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Realize that the Impostor Syndrome is a normal stage people go through when stretching themselves.</span></li> </ul> <strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.successtelevision.biz/jack-welch-dvd.html">Success Skills from the Corner Office</a></strong>