Overcome Imposter Syndrome 

1- Refocus on your successes.
Imposters often overlook their successes and instead notice everything they didn’t do or didn’t do right. What do you bring to bed at night? The 1 thing that didn’t go right or the 49 that you ticked off the list? Rarely does that one thing deserve all that extra attention!

2- Say YES to positive self talk.
We get more of what we focus on and by focusing on the positives we increase their existence in our lives. The same works the other way round – by focusing on the negatives we’ll ensure they grow and fester. Rewrite your script to one that focuses on what you do right, feel proud of and are grateful for rather than the opposite.

3 - Don’t believe everything you think.
Thoughts create feelings that corresponds with the thoughts, making the thoughts feel real. It doesn’t mean they are real. Thought are just thought, not reality!

4 - Use positive language.
Our brains can’t process a negative so by telling yourself ‘don’t stress’, ‘don’t worry’, ‘don’t put myself down’, what you’re actually doing is focusing in on the very thing you’re trying to avoid or reduce. Instead try to turn those thoughts on their head – ‘stay calm’, ‘I’m great’, ‘think positive’ – consistently try this and find much improved outcomes.

5 - Reinforce your own hype to others.
By highlighting and emphasising your own successes they are much more likely to grow in size and consistency. A saying by author Norman Vincent Peale explains the power of this very aptly - ‘Think excitement, talk excitement, act out excitement, and you are bound to become an exciting person.’ Extend this to confidence, competent, valuable…

6 - Reinforce your own hype to yourself.
Act as if you feel confident and know what is required in a certain situation, even if you think you don’t. Your subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between reality and fiction and by deliberately and consistently noticing and reinforcing your own successes to yourself, both they and your level of confidence will grow in magnitude.

7 - Reduce your autopilot responses and develop new habits.
All of us act on autopilot the majority of the time. These habits are hardwired as neural pathways and make it easier for us to act and think without too much effort. Which is helpful so long as our habits are helpful. However, when it comes to responses and thought patterns that are not helping you, it might be time to reduce the autopilot and increase deliberate behaviour - practising new, helpful habits.

8 - Accept shortcomings as normal.
A main difference between imposters and non-imposters, is the acceptance of shortcomings as normal. By focusing on the things we’re good at and accepting those we’re less good at, we can enjoy the former and both better handle and forgive ourselves for the latter.

9 - Know that you’re in good company.
70% of people are estimated to experience imposter syndrome. Many of whom are very successful high achievers. So normalise how you’re feeling. It’s actually more common than the opposite! The added benefit is also that when you normalise a difficult feeling, you lower the activity in your brain’s stress centre, reducing the stressful experience.

10 - Smile!
Try feeling miserable when smiling. It’s really quite difficult. Even when you don’t feel like it, force yourself to curl your lips into a smile and bring the smile into your eyes. It really lifts your spirits and help you feel positive.