One of the most influential people on the subject of imposter syndrome is Dr. Valerie Young. She’s written a book on the subject that is based on decades of research. As a result of her research, Dr. Young has identified five distinct types of imposters. This is important for you to know as it can help you to overcome imposter syndrome or may help you better understand someone in your life experiencing it.
Table of Contents
The Perfectionist Imposter
Some people that experience regular feelings of being a fraud will develop perfectionist tendencies. They start to believe that they need to provide proof to others that they are not an imposter, and doing everything perfectly is the best way to do this.
But nothing and nobody is perfect in this world, so this is doomed to failure from the start. When you are a perfectionist, it will take you a lot longer to complete anything – that’s if you can complete anything at all.
Perfectionists tend to go over their work time and time again and make tweaks to it each time in the name of perfection. It is always likely that a perfectionist will have many unfinished tasks because they are not satisfied with the quality of the work they have done.
The Superhero Imposter
The superhero imposter is never too busy to take on more work. They are an overachiever, and it is a way for them to prove that they are not a fraud. As a superhero imposter, you will work much longer hours than your colleagues. When you do finally go home, you will probably take some work with you.
It is rare for a superhero to take a day off because this has no meaning to them. They have trouble focusing on one thing at a time and become a jack of all trades. A superhero is a juggler that always has a lot of balls in the air.
The Natural Genius Imposter
This is a person that will be very good at one thing and distinctly average at everything else. They will be well-known for their specific talent, and people will usually give them problems to solve in this area. But others will never learn anything from a natural genius imposter. This is because they have great difficulty explaining how they arrived at a solution.
These people usually struggle with learning new things and often believe that they are a failure because of this. If their knowledge of the one subject was ever to let them down, then this would be very difficult for the natural genius to handle.
The Soloist Imposter
Someone that is a soloist imposter likes to work alone as much as possible. This is because they are terrified that someone else will find out that they are a fraud. A soloist can often be anti-social, but not always. But they are always protective of their big imposter secret.
The Expert Imposter
The expert imposter is very interesting. To the rest of the world, it’s very obvious that the person has a lot of knowledge, but to the expert, they feel like they can’t have enough knowledge. When they are given a task to complete, it is likely that they will insist on performing research even though they already have all the answers.
Effective Techniques For Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Accept That Perfection is Impossible
Nobody is perfect in this world. All of us have various strengths and weaknesses, and we have made many mistakes and will continue to do this. The best way to deal with the mistakes that you make is to learn from them and then move on.
It is a waste of time and effort to try and deliver perfectionism. You need to change your mindset if you are a perfectionist and accept that something that is good enough is acceptable. Striving for perfection every time will just delay things and in some cases, you will not deliver anything at all.
Focus on time rather than perfection. Time is our most precious commodity and you do not want to waste yours trying to make things perfect. Think about all of the other good things that you can do with the time that you waste on perfectionism.
There Is An Imposter In Everyone
Without exception, everyone will experience feelings of being an imposter or not belonging at some time in their life. This is completely natural and is normal when you are taking on any new challenge. You’re not sure how you’ll complete the challenge, and this raises uncertainty.
You must accept that this is a normal situation and remain positive about your life.
Stop Comparing Yourself
Something that most people do when they are suffering from imposter syndrome is to compare themselves with others. They do this because they feel it is a good way to confirm that they are not an imposter. In theory this makes sense, but in practice it doesn’t.
Every time that you compare yourself to another person, it is very likely that you will discover something about them which they have, and you don’t. This is not going to help you to overcome imposter syndrome. In fact, it is likely to make it worse.
Another downside of comparing yourself to others is that it can result in you feeling that you do not fit in. Also, you may have thoughts that you are not good enough because someone else can do something better than you. Just concentrate on yourself. Set yourself personal targets and stop comparing yourself to other people.
Too Much Social Media
These days, people seem to be glued to their smartphones. They cannot miss a notification or their life will not be worth living. We have nothing against social media and welcome it as a great tool. The problem is that it’s very easy to get addicted to it.
The problem with social media for those experiencing imposter syndrome is that they are very likely to come across people on there that seem to have a much better life than you. This is usually far from the truth, as social media users will often exaggerate things in order to get attention.
Nevertheless, the fact that something is not true doesn’t matter. Even if you know this is the case, you can start to think about your own life and what is missing. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy, which will not help. Gradually reduce the time you spend on social media.
Top 3 Actions You Can Take Right Now
Consistently Neutralize Negative Thoughts
You need to understand that imposter syndrome is all in your head. The thoughts and feelings that you are experiencing about being an imposter are not based in fact. In reality, you are not a fraud or an imposter, it’s just that your thoughts are telling you that you are.
Everything begins with thoughts. You are not going to experience bad feelings without a thought starting this off. We are what we think, and if you do not control the negative thoughts in your mind, then you are not going to overcome imposter syndrome.
When you experience a negative thought that tells you that you are an imposter, you need to neutralize this. The best way to do this is to think a positive thought immediately afterwards. You need to act quickly here and not let any of the negative thoughts fester in your mind. They can soon turn into limiting beliefs if you don’t take action.
If you experience a thought that is telling you that you are an imposter because you are having difficulty completing a task, for example, you can neutralize this by thinking “I will complete this task because I can do anything” or something similar to this.
It is going to take time and practice to get this right. After a while, you will find that you automatically neutralize negative thoughts with positive ones. The act of neutralizing a negative thought takes away its power, so you need to persevere with this.
Start Celebrating Your Accomplishments
People that experience imposter syndrome are often quick to downplay their achievements. They believe that anyone else could have done the things that they accomplished. This is not true, of course, so you need to prove to your subconscious mind that your accomplishments mean something.
While we never think that dwelling in the past is a good idea, it can help to dig in to your past to create a list of the things that you have achieved in your lifetime. Don’t even think about saying that you have never achieved anything. You certainly have, and you need to dig deep to find these.
Recalling your current and recent achievements will be a lot easier, and it is something that we recommend you do. As you recall each one, celebrate this in your mind. When you consistently celebrate your accomplishments, you will prove to your subconscious that you are worthy, and this will negate the power of imposter syndrome.
Assess Your Abilities Often And Honestly
Another effective way to overcome imposter syndrome is to assess your abilities. This is also a way to inform your subconscious mind that you are not an imposter and that you deserve to be where you are.
You need to be honest with yourself here. Grab a pen and paper and take the time out to think about your different abilities. We would always recommend that you write these down, as there is power to be derived from this. Read your abilities list to yourself over and over to convince your subconscious that you are not a fraud.
