The Impostor Syndrome is a well-researched, well-documented phenomenon that occurs when successful and intelligent professionals feel they do not deserve their accomplishments and that they have faked their way to success. This syndrome can cause negative stress, fear, anxiety, loss of confidence, and can eventually lead to derailment. However, by overcoming inaccurate beliefs about yourself and your abilities, you can overcome the Impostor Syndrome and enjoy a more fulfilling career.
A series of true stories that are at once relatable, funny, and heart-wrenching, join lauded writer Marissa Miller on a journey of battling imposter syndrome and learning to be proud to stand out. Acclaimed writer and editor Marissa Miller was born into what you would call a nice Jewish family. But she somehow grew into anything but a Nice Jewish Girl. From openly discussing any and all bodily functions with whoever would listen, to encouraging her peers to join her in undressing in the hallways at school for no reason other than to fight the oppressive institution of modern academia, she was continuously scolded by members of the Jewish community for exploring her identity and pushing the boundaries of what a “nice girl” is allowed to do. To make sense of being the odd one out, she did what any confused teenager would do: she wrote. She wrote poems on MySpace, articles for her school newspaper, extra credit English assignments to compensate for her complete and utter lack of math skills, and eventually, reported pieces for many of the world’s most prestigious media publications. But the transition to a lucrative journalism career didn’t come without is growing pains. Getting anywhere past the school newspaper stage and being asked to provide journalism lectures around the city inspired a sense of panic, dread, and most notably, impostor syndrome—the sense that success is a product of coincidence and luck as opposed to hard work and talent. No fellow journalists she idolized growing up seemed to have had a history of behavior so crude it would make your Rabbi blush. Surely, the Universe was thisclose to taking everything away from her. And to some extent, it did. In Pretty Weird—a series of true stories that are at once relatable, funny, and heart-wrenching—you’ll learn about why, like Miller, you’re worthy of success by virtue of you thinking you’re not, about why there’s no such thing as being “not sick enough” to deserve help, and that living in that liminal space of being too normal to stand out, yet too weird to fit in, is truly where all the magic happens.
Learn to take ownership of your success, overcome self-doubt, and banish the thought patterns that undermine your ability to feel—and act—as bright and capable as others already know you are with this award-winning book by Valerie Young. It’s only because they like me. I was in the right place at the right time. I just work harder than the others. I don’t deserve this. It’s just a matter of time before I am found out. Someone must have made a terrible mistake. If you are a working woman, chances are this internal monologue sounds all too familiar. And you’re not alone. From the high-achieving Ph.D. candidate convinced she’s only been admitted to the program because of a clerical error to the senior executive who worries others will find out she’s in way over her head, a shocking number of accomplished women in all career paths and at every level feel as though they are faking it—impostors in their own lives and careers. While the impostor syndrome is not unique to women, women are more apt to agonize over tiny mistakes, see even constructive criticism as evidence of their shortcomings, and chalk up their accomplishments to luck rather than skill. They often unconsciously overcompensate with crippling perfectionism, overpreparation, maintaining a lower profile, withholding their talents and opinions, or never finishing important projects. When they do succeed, they think, Phew, I fooled ’em again. An internationally known speaker, Valerie Young has devoted her career to understanding women’s most deeply held beliefs about themselves and their success. In her decades of in-the-trenches research, she has uncovered the often surprising reasons why so many accomplished women experience this crushing self-doubt. In The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women, Young gives these women the solution they have been seeking. Combining insightful analysis with effective advice and anecdotes, she explains what the impostor syndrome is, why fraud fears are more common in women, and how you can recognize the way it manifests in your life.
Offering entrepreneurs and leaders a practical look at “impostor syndrome,” leadership consultant Kris Kelso explores that inner voice that downplays our own accomplishments while amplifying those of others. Kris gives readers powerful tools needed to expose The Impostor’s methods and emerge as more effective and confident leaders. Of the many challenges successful entrepreneurs and business leaders face, none may be as damaging or difficult to conquer as silencing their worst critics—their own negative nagging inner voices. If you’re a leader, innovator, or entrepreneur who’s ever told yourself … “I’m not supposed to be here …” “I only got lucky; but that leader has the real talent … ” “I don’t deserve an award. It should go to that other person …” “One of these days, everyone’s going to figure out that I’m in over my head …” … then you’ve met The Impostor who denigrates your own competencies while praising those of others. But, The Impostor’s voice doesn’t have to dominate your life or hold you back any longer from reaching your goals. Dealing with The Impostor is a mind game that you can win! In Overcoming the Impostor, Kris Kelso breaks down how founders and leaders can recognize impostor syndrome in their own lives. He gives practical ideas for silencing their inner critics and offers attainable solutions for effectively overcoming and defeating The Impostor. With reflection questions at the end of each chapter and practical how-to tips, Overcoming the Impostor gives you the tools and techniques to: Change your thinking and lead with confidence Disarm the inner critic and silence the nagging voice inside your head Shift your perspective on what defines failure Identify when The Impostor has been at work in your life and career in the past Manage effectively The Impostor’s appearance in the future See how The Impostor makes you feel unique for all the wrong reasons Understand how The Impostor leads you to self sabotage Recognize how fear of failure, not asking for help, and comparing yourself to others invites The Impostor’s influence Understand how community and vulnerability play vital roles in helping you succeed Use the 3 Ps—Progress, Passion, and Purpose—to define your success Create ten new habits that will help you overcome The Impostor Freeing yourself from the influence of The Impostor is not a one-time event; it’s an ongoing effort. You have to change the way that you think, make some conscious decisions that are not natural or comfortable, and step forward even when you’d rather stay in the background. Overcoming the Impostor is a practical guide for starting your journey toward freedom from the beliefs that hold you back and keep you down. It’s time to embrace the clarity and confidence needed to change your life and take your career to the next level.
A personal and professional guide to the latest research on imposterism and psychological flexibility, IMPOSTER NO MORE is the professional’s handbook to combating “impostor syndrome” and overcoming self-doubt to achieve career success. Dr. Jill Stoddard is a recovered imposter. For years, she was convinced that the only reason she was accepted into a competitive grad school program was because her father knew the program director. Dr. Stoddard isn't alone in this: deep down, the majority of successful people question their professional legitimacy a good amount of the time. Why do we do this, and how can we stop? Although she's in recovery, Dr. Stoddard still struggles with feelings of imposterism. She works through them with psychological flexibility, the ability to be present with all thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and urges, fully and without defense, while making conscious, deliberate choices based on what deeply matters to a person. Essentially, we're not attempting to change the substance of the thoughts and feelings that naturally occur to us; instead, we change the way we relate to those thoughts and feelings, so we aren't caught up in constant battle to control them. Throughout Imposter No More, Dr. Stoddard lays the groundwork for understanding the imposter phenomenon; she outlines the traps professionals often fall into regarding their imposter feelings, and provides actionable steps for cultivating psychological flexibility to be able to choose bold career moves despite self-doubt and imposterism.
Stop letting impostor syndrome hold you back! This guided workbook of interactive exercises and research-backed activities will help you conquer self-doubt, realize your true worth, and enjoy your success. How many times have you thought that everyone is crushing it except you? How often have you looked at one of your accomplishments and attributed it to luck or the help of others? It can be difficult to acknowledge our own successes and skills, and overcome the feeling of being an impostor. But moving past that feeling is crucial to continuing down the path to even greater success and happiness. Own Your Greatness will give you all the tools you need to recognize and overcome the impostor syndrome that is holding you back. Packed full of research- and therapy-backed exercises, prompts, and activities, this interactive workbook will help you: Identify the root causes of your impostor syndrome Recognize your natural skills and strengths Gain the confidence to lead Speak up for yourself Feel comfortable receiving and giving praise With this book, you’ll acknowledge the skills you bring to the table, understand that you truly deserve your success, and take steps to a successful, happy, and fulfilled life.
This book focuses on academic writing and how academics who are experts in their fields can translate their expertise into publishable form. The magnitude and speed of the changes that are transforming the global academic landscape produce an ongoing need for literature that interprets the nature of academic work. This book arises from the background discipline of Education, which is a relatively new university subject that draws on the entire knowledge spectrum from the fine arts to the natural sciences. Each chapter addresses an aspect of the conditions of written academic labour in an age of digital publishing: its nature, how it works, and guidance for successful navigation. This book will provide helpful guidance to graduate students, researchers and teachers in universities and higher education, who are united by the challenges of this new world of academic publishing.
Are You for Real? is a groundbreaking work that places imposter syndrome, the Bible, and society at the same table. In this project Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder addresses the shadow of facade and fake feeling that pervade not only women, but men and non-binary persons in various ways. Matters of racism, sexism, classism, and gender come to the forefront as the author engages imposter syndrome through the lens of biblical texts. While much work on imposter syndrome situates itself in corporate environments, Buckhanon Crowder expands such professional boundaries to include religious contexts and the public square in general. Study questions at the end of each chapter provide space for both individual and institutional reflection on manifestations of imposter syndrome.
Despite the proven benefits of emotional intelligence, organizational life has typically been hostile to the inner world of feeling. Rationality is deemed superior to feeling, which can contaminate judgment. But without feeling there is no passion, and no action. This book sets out to change people and organizations for the better, by revealing the 'dark side' of leadership behaviour and its impact on performance. Tapping into the startling parallels between the journey to emotional intelligence, the process of psychoanalysis, the practice of leadership coaching and the Zen journey to enlightenment, renowned thinker Manfred Kets de Vries helps executives, consultants, and coaches to peel back the layers of self-deception and reveal how inner personality – largely hard-wired since early childhood – affects the way they lead and manage others.
Philip K. Dick struggled to make a living during his lifetime, but his work has since served as a deep seam of ideas to be mined by filmmakers such as Ridley Scott, Paul Verhoeven, Steven Spielberg, John Woo and Richard Linklater, resulting in some of the most successful and influential SF movies of all time. For the still-unequalled future world of Blade Runner to the mind-bending A Scanner Darkly, via the blockbusting action/adventure of Total Recall, Paycheck and Minority Report – not to mention the debt of gratitude films like The Matrix and The Truman Show owe to his work – the legacy of Philip K. Dick has revolutionised Hollywood.
