Mindfulness To Challenge Your Imposter Syndrome

Have you ever felt like you don’t belong? Like your friends or colleagues are going to discover you’re a fraud, and you don’t actually deserve your job and accomplishments? I know I have! Please join me in this practice to challenge our imposter syndrome.

Transcript

Hello,

Unique learners!

My name is Yvette Vermeer and I welcome you all!

In this session we're going to look at how to challenge your imposter syndrome with mindfulness.

You also might know me for my other work with working with your inner critic or Beat Procrastination,

And if you haven't you might want to check out my Inside Timer profile.

So challenging your imposter syndrome.

Have you ever felt like you don't belong?

Like your friends or colleagues are going to discover you're a fraud and you don't actually deserve your job and accomplishments?

I know I have!

So I welcome you to join me in this practice on challenging that imposter syndrome.

By doing a grounding exercise and I will tell you more about what imposter syndrome actually is,

I will provide some tips and we will close off with a mindfulness exercise by practicing these tips.

So get comfortable,

Preferably sitting straight like a mountain,

Stroll.

And if you haven't done so already,

You can close your eyes or stare in front of you.

Feel your feet touching the ground and give them a grub so that you can connect with the ground.

Now notice your entire body and try to take a deep breath in through the nose,

Holding it and breathe out more slowly than your in-breath through the mouth.

So breathe in through the nose,

Hold it and breathe out slowly.

The key is to focus on those moments between the in and out breath,

The silence.

So breathe in,

Hold it and breathe out more slowly.

One more big breath in through the nose,

Hold it and you can make a dramatic sigh outwards.

And how does that feel?

Come back to your natural breath.

Let's go more inwards.

What emotions are you feeling?

Sadness,

Anger,

Fear,

Happiness?

Label them but don't dwell in them.

You can do that by stating,

I feel fear but that's okay.

Or I feel happiness but that's okay.

Now place your right arm if you like on your left arm and your left on your right and give yourself a cuddle.

Start yourself with taking part in this practice.

So unique learners.

I'm going to share a little bit about my experience with imposter syndrome.

When I was doing my PhD and I thought,

You know,

My other peers,

They are real researchers,

Not me.

I don't know if you know that.

That constant feeling of,

If they knew how much of a failure I am,

They would laugh.

Everybody else seems to do a better job than me.

And you don't want them to take it away.

And you don't want them to find out you really aren't all that qualified.

So if you can relate to any of these examples,

You might be experiencing known as imposter syndrome.

It describes a pattern of doubting your own success and harboring the chronic fear of being found out as a total fraud because you think you're not as competent as you seem.

And it's not only at the workplace.

I think social media nowadays adds to this chronic fear.

Like look at all those happy couples on Instagram.

I must be doing something right.

Or hey,

Look at all those traveling pictures of people.

I'm doing it wrong.

But is it true?

And that is why I would like to provide some tips to help you challenge your imposter syndrome.

And we can do a quick grounding exercise later with some inquiry questions focused on connecting with others and challenging that inner critic.

And my first tip is awareness.

Know that imposter syndrome is very widespread.

According to a 2011 article in the Journal of Behavioral Science,

70% of people experience imposter syndrome at some time.

And it is more common for those who are starting out on something new,

Like going to graduate school or starting a new role at a new office.

And the challenge with imposter syndrome is,

No one talks about it,

Which makes it very hard to detect.

And it is even more problematic because then imposters tend to fall into this vicious cycle of behavior.

They may be paralyzed with fear over not being good enough,

And thus they may excessively over-prepare.

However,

Imposter syndrome can cause significant psychology difficulties like shame,

Guilt,

Depression,

Anxiety,

Heightened stress,

Or low self-esteem.

And perhaps worst of all,

It might take on your chances to be optimistic about the future.

So with awareness comes watch yourself think.

And we can start doing that with the next exercise.

Relax your neck and shoulders.

Relax your jaw.

Notice if your face is having an angry look,

Or was there a smile on your face?

And place your hands on your stomach if you like.

And with the following breathing exercise,

Try to notice the rising and falling of your stomach.

So breathe in slowly through the nose,

And again slowly out through the mouth,

As if you are gently blowing out a candle.

Keep breathing this way.

Feel the rise of your stomach.

Now again,

Rub your feet over the floor to connect with the earth,

With the ground beneath you,

Because you are part of a bigger picture here.

I did a live session on insight timer,

And hundreds of people were joining me because they all suffer from imposter syndrome.

So everybody present here is working together with you on challenging our imposter syndrome.

And with the following inquiry questions,

I invite you to focus on your body and what is happening.

Now imagine you are speaking with your friends,

Loved one,

And suddenly they share about work and their insecurities.

You see them suffer.

Would you say that they are frauds?

Would you point out that everybody else is making a better job out of it?

Would you say they don't deserve it?

No right?

But that's what our imposter syndrome is doing to us.

So please imagine that you are being interviewed by a neutral person.

You do not know this person.

You don't have any particular negative or positive thoughts about this person.

And if they would ask reality questions,

How would you then respond to what facts are there to support your success and make sure you have evidence to prove it?

So what facts are there to support your success?

What facts are there to support your story of not being good enough?

Remember,

Make sure you have evidence.

What facts are there to support your story of not being good enough?

That's a different tone of voice than normally,

Right?

And if you still think you're an imposter,

Try to notice if your thoughts are just ungrounded opinions or actually true and you will find out at some point that they are not true.

And if that didn't work,

Maybe it might help if you hear some quotes and get inspired by people you honestly never thought dealt with imposter syndrome.

I still have a little imposter syndrome.

It doesn't go away.

That feeling that you shouldn't take me that seriously.

What do I know?

I share that with you because we all have doubt in our abilities about our power and what that power is.

Michelle Obama The exaggerated esteem in which my life work is held makes me very ill at ease.

I feel compelled to think of myself as an involuntary swindler.

Albert Einstein No matter what we've done,

There comes a point where you think,

How did I get here?

When are they going to discover that I am in fact a fraud and take everything away from me?

Tom Hanks And to close off,

If you would talk to your friends the way you would talk to yourself,

You wouldn't have any friends.

Kristin Neff So please take another deep breath in and out.

And I would like to close off this practice with a little assignment for you if you wish to do some homework,

Because this is my following tip.

Notice your big and especially small little achievements you make during the day and why not celebrate it?

Those suffering from imposter syndrome not only fear that they will be found out,

But they completely bypass the process of winning and enjoying their accomplishments.

And instead of questioning the reason behind your success,

Go buy yourself your favorite soap and have a friendly walk with your friend in nature.

Do a crazy dance and please let me know how you get on.

And if you wish to connect with fellow procrastinators or people who suffer from imposter syndrome,

I invite you to join the circle Student and Academic Wellbeing.

So again,

Student and academic wellbeing.

I hope you take these tips to heart and feel the love and I would like to thank you for choosing to listen to this practice.

I wish you a lovely night or day ahead.

Namaste.

May you be loved,

May you be safe and may you be well.

Reviews

I love your accent and the way you express yourself. 💕

Definitely me, and I so wish I had been able to make that Live session. I thought I would have time for a break at work, but it didn't work out that way. 😕 I hope you will be doing more of them! Meanwhile, this track had so much good information and ways to counter imposter syndrome that I added it to my academic Playlist for quick access whenever I need it. Thank you very much for you attention to this little niche of ours. I see you and the light within you. Be well. 🤲🏻❤🤲🏻