Navigating Imposter Syndrome in Academic Settings

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have you ever felt like this before

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what if we told you that a lot of people

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feel the same way like around 70 percent

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of people

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and what if we told you there might be

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stuff you can do about it

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let's talk about feeling like an

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imposter just to note that many people

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call this imposter syndrome but we're

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just going to say imposter feelings so

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you don't feel like you have some sort

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of disease

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imposter feelings are when you feel like

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you don't deserve credit for your

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accomplishments

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that you got to where you are by luck by

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accident or by mistake

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it's the fear that any minute people

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will realize you're not as talented or

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smart as they once thought and you'll be

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exposed as an imposter despite

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overwhelming evidence that you actually

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are talented

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many people feel this at some point even

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people you look up to like celebrities

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famous authors famous scientists even

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they feel like a fraud sometimes

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imposter feelings can affect people in

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any age any field any income level any

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racial or ethnic group any gender any

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experience level literally

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anyone

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including your classmates who you swear

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are smarter than you spoiler alert they

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feel the same way about you

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imposter feelings are different for

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everyone

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so see if you can relate to any of these

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five types

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first up the perfectionist

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perfectionists set extremely high goals

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for themselves and feel like a failure

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when they don't meet them

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they may also focus on results for

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example a 99 on an assignment feels like

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failure and brings feelings of Shame

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some also feel like they could have done

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better even when they do succeed

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what strategies can perfectionists use

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to try to feel better first

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they can adjust their goals so they're

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more reasonable challenging is good but

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perfection

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is just not possible

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second

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when they make mistakes they can try to

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reframe it as learning I'm learning and

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now I'll do it better next time feels

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much better than

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I failed

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third

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they can remind themselves that there's

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something between perfect and failure

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it might even be helpful to write it on

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a sticky note and post it where you'll

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see it often

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and finally it could help to practice

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failing in a space that feels low

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stakes like a new hobby or something

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outside of school

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next are the superheroes

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superheroes measure their worth by how

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many roles they excel in compared to

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others so falling short in even one role

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feels like a failure because they

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believe they should be able to do it all

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perfectly and easily

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to feel better superheroes could try to

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notice when they hold themselves to a

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higher standard than they hold others

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and then they could ask themselves what

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is realistic for me in each role or what

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expectations would I have for someone

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else in this role

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they'll need to challenge the idea that

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they have to really overwork themselves

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to be worthy

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and challenge the idea that their worth

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in one role like student

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affects their worth in another role like

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friend or neighbor

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the third type is the natural genius

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they feel like they should be good at

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something the first time

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and if they have to work hard at

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something it means they're bad at it

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they set a really high bar like

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perfectionist but believe they must get

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it perfect easily and quickly the first

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time

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some strategies for the natural genius

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this group might try to see themselves

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as a work in progress remember that

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learning or getting good at something

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takes time

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violin virtuosos weren't virtuosos when

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they first started

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a natural genius type can learn to set

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goals that are achievable both in terms

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of the size of the goal as well as how

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long it takes to get there

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they could find a safe space to practice

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and get comfortable failing say in a low

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pressure and independent hobby

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they can also remind themselves that

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people become expert at something

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because they practice a lot like

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sometimes their whole lives

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Type 4 is the rugged individualist

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they feel like they should be able to

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handle anything totally on their own

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they believe that they shouldn't need

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help and if they do need it

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they feel like a fraud

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what are the strategies for rugged

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individualists first

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they need to remind themselves that

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there's no shame in asking for help

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Elite athletes professional singers they

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get help from coaches so think of it as

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coaching instead of needing help

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one way to ease into asking for help is

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to start with people you trust most

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last up is the expert

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this type feels like they need to know

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everything about a topic or skill and

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they're unwilling to take a risk like

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answer a question or apply for a job

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unless they're 100 certain they'll get

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it right

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so

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strategies for the expert

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first

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give yourself credit for what you do

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know

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think of every time you help someone

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else those were times people benefited

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from your knowledge or experience next

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remember that you can learn as you go in

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fact sometimes we learn best when we

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learn from others or by making mistakes

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you don't need to know it all ahead of

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time

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Einstein didn't know everything on day

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one he built up his knowledge and

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expertise over many years

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finally try to see the value in trying

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something you don't know how to do some

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employers view it as valuable skill when

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people are willing to be vulnerable and

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take risks

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now let's discuss some strategies that

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might work for any type of imposter

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feelings

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first figure out your triggers

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what situations might make you feel like

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an imposter

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is it when someone has more experience

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with a certain skill than you when you

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worry that your work will affect someone

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else's grade

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when you're struggling to understand

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something

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when you get critical feedback from an

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instructor

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or is there something else

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once you know your triggers you can try

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over time to change your response to

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these triggers for example maybe you

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change what you tell yourself

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notice the script you play in your head

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about yourself

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try to find some ways to reframe it and

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be kinder to yourself do you tell

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yourself you have to be the smartest and

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the best while this kind of thinking can

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help motivate you to be ambitious in

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your schoolwork it could become

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unhelpful when it leads you to Value

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Perfection over learning

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if you think these thoughts remind

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yourself that it's not only unrealistic

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it's also not serving your best

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interests or do you feel like your work

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or grades Define you and 10 years you'll

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hopefully see that effort and what you

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learn matter way more than any

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individual grades or do you hate failure

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remember that failure means growth

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if you do everything perfectly it means

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you already knew it and you're not

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learning new things you only really

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learn

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when you make mistakes so that was what

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you say to yourself now let's talk about

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changing what you say about yourself to

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others

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notice how you present yourself to

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others especially before you share an

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idea or ask a question

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maybe you say

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I have a stupid question

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instead just say

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I have a question or better yet

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just ask the question

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same for sharing an idea try not to tell

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people your ideas bad before you share

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it just share your idea

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if someone asks you to do something

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don't say how bad you are at it instead

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talk about your willingness to learn

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the goal is to notice what you say about

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yourself and to get to a point where

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you're not saying things that take away

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from your own value

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next remind yourself that you got where

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you are because of your hard work and

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because you're good at things

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High School diplomas aren't just handed

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out freely

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you earned it after 13 years of effort

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and learning

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colleges use rigorous acceptance

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processes so you got in because

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admissions believed you would make a

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valuable addition to the school remind

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yourself that as often as you need to

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when people hire you for a job they also

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use careful selection criteria that

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means they actually want to hire you

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not just anyone

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give yourself credit for all the

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difficult and wonderful things you've

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accomplished they count

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they matter

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they're important

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and most importantly

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you made them happen

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last remember that no one is perfect

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no one

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ever

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sometimes the feelings people experience

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go beyond imposter syndrome like if

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people's feelings of not being good

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enough are long lasting leak into other

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parts of their lives and really get in

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the way of their thriving

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or when people are being bullied or

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discriminated against and quite

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literally feel like they don't belong

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there

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that's not imposter syndrome

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if you ever feel either of these it may

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be worth getting help like from a family

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member instructor advisor or counselor