New Study Looks at the Emotionally Corrosive Effect of Impostor Syndrome.
On one end of the humility spectrum, there’s the braggers. It doesn’t matter if all they’ve done is fry an egg without burning it – the entire world must know of their accomplishments. Next, there’s the humble-braggers.
They think they’re being modest when they insist that they don’t understand why they received an award, why they got into the most prestigious university, or why they keep getting hit on, but in reality, they’re fishing for compliments. The truly humble seek neither praise nor reward, and wouldn’t care if not a single soul knew of their accomplishments. But the humility spectrum doesn’t end there. People who struggle with Impostor Syndrome, take humbleness to a distorted extreme. Not only do they significantly minimize their accomplishments, they also see themselves as frauds, and undeserving of any recognition. Unfortunately, according to a recent study conducted by Queendom.com, low self-esteem isn’t the only baggage these “impostors” carry with them.
Analyzing fata from 12,259 people who took the Emotional Intelligence Test, researchers at Queendom compared the scores of people who struggle with Impostor Syndrome to those who don’t on a number of EQ traits.
“People who struggle with Impostor Syndrome are unable to enjoy their successes, no matter how amazing their accomplishments are,” explains Dr. Jerabek, president of PsychTests, the parent company of Queendom. “They consider themselves frauds and are terrified that other people will soon discover their ‘dirty little secret’. This isn’t necessarily because they really did lie and cheat their way to the top.
Rather, victims of Impostor Syndrome genuinely believe that their success is the result of external and uncontrollable factors, like luck, or simply being at the right place at the right time. They discount the influence of their abilities, their intelligence, their persistence, and effort. As a result, their achievements feel tarnished. And as our study has revealed, people with IS are not only plagued by deep-rooted insecurities and self-esteem issues, they are also less confident, assertive, motivated, resilient, and happy than people who don’t have IS.
What’s disconcerting is that among the people in our sample who have Impostor Syndrome, 61% are women, with 83% of them being under the age of 30. So it’s not just women in high-ranking positions who are grappling with this, it’s also young girls who are unable to see how amazing and special they are.”
Here are some tips for people with Imposter syndrome:
• At its root, Impostor Syndrome is an issue of self-esteem: You feel you are unworthy of success and praise, which is further underlined by your inability to see your value. It would be a good idea to try to trace the origin of your low self-esteem, especially as it relates to achievement. Awareness is the first step to overcoming deeply seated issues. Here are some common causes of Impostor Syndrome:
– Growing up with parents who set extremely high standards in relation to academics and/or extracurricular activities.
– Highly critical parenting, which exacerbated the feeling of not being good enough, no matter how well you performed or how hard you tried.
– A lack of parental encouragement, praise, and responsiveness.
– A highly competitive school and/or work environment.
• Conduct a frank and objective analysis of each of your successes: What are all the personal factors that contributed to your achievement? For example, did your hard work, persistence, and determination play any role? Chances are that even if you had someone else’s help, your own individual efforts had a definite impact as well.
• Be mindful of your thoughts. Many people with Impostor Syndrome have developed negative thought patterns that turn into distorted beliefs. Here are some examples of these types of cognitive biases, and how to challenge them:
• Distorted belief: “I don’t deserve success.”
• Challenge/Counterattack: “Why wouldn’t I deserve success? What makes me different from other successful people? I am smart, I am skilled, and I work hard. Some things may have come easily to me, but other times I have had to put in a lot of time and effort to succeed.”
• Distorted belief: “I am a fraud. People will soon realize that I am not as smart or as skilled as they think I am.”
• Challenge/Counterattack: “I received compliments and accolades for my work because I deserved it. Praise isn’t easy to come by, so the fact that my achievements have been acknowledged is something to be proud of. I am human. I am not perfect and I make mistakes, but I am also striving to be and do better.”
• Self-doubt isn’t a sign that you lack skill, it’s a sign that you lack faith in your skills. When doubtful thoughts begin to surface, visualize them being voiced by a miniature version of yourself, in a squeaky tone. See yourself in full size, talking down to your tiny counterpart, flippantly: “You talk big for someone so small. I didn’t ask for your opinion. Sit down and be quiet, you little twerp.”
• Flip negative “What-if” statements. For example:
– “What if I fail? People will realize I’m a loser and a fraud, with no actual skill.”
– “What if I succeed? How wonderful will that be? How great will I feel when people tell me that they are impressed with my work, my performance?
– “What if everything I have done, everything I have achieved, was a fluke? My achievements would have no value.
– “What if, for once in my life, I give myself credit and a pat on the back, rather than criticizing myself? What if I finally allowed myself to recognize my achievements, and feel proud of what I have accomplished?”
