How to deal with impostor syndrome the right way

It is not uncommon for me to discuss impostor syndrome with someone on my team, a fellow founder, or a friend.

Even more often, I find myself disagreeing with most of the discourse online about this topic.

If you’re feeling like someone who hasn’t earned the position they are in, read along, and I bet some of my thoughts here will help you deal with it.

The problem with “syndromes”

I want to make a broader point about modern diagnosis culture before we get into the nitty-gritty of impostor syndrome.

• Feeling sad? – Depression!
• Anger issues? – Childhood Trauma!
• Can’t focus? – ADHD!
• … the list goes on!

This diagnosis culture isn’t healthy.

Am I saying these issues aren’t real? Of course not.

But an ever-increasing number of people tend to self-diagnose their basic emotions into the bucket of a syndrome… forcing them to be close-minded about how to “get out” of that bucket.

This culture also leads to the externalization of responsibility.

My anger issues aren’t my problem… they are due to an unresolved thing called “Childhood Trauma” that I need to spend 4 years laying on a therapist’s couch to “heal.”

Until then, deal with me as I am!

This puts ZERO onus of change on the person. We just externalized away their problem to a situation that’s beyond their control (you can’t change history).

With such narratives being peddled, genuinely affected people tend to feel powerless over their situation.

Allowing people to change their situation matters more than anything else. When you know you have power over something, you feel powerful and take the onus of change.

Maybe you are an Impostor…

Alright, back to feeling like an impostor. If you feel like an impostor for being where you are in your career, consider that maybe you are one… and that’s okay.

Most people who are pushing themselves will take on projects that are beyond their current ability.

Years ago, I remember feeling a high degree of impostorism when I said yes to a client who also wanted me to fix some SEO issues for them.

I had no clue about SEO (they did not know this). However, they trusted me due to my previous work, and I did an exceptional job for them at SEO, too. I spent nights and weekends learning nothing but SEO, speaking to people, and listening to podcasts, and I was able to fix some of their ranking issues.

Feeling like you don’t know what you’re doing or have taken up more than you’re worth can be a positive sign. It might tell you you’re in a newer, more challenging environment, which will force growth.

Think of a movie scene where the amateur sportsman finally goes from his little league to the international tournament. Everything is bigger and intimidating… everyone else seems better than the player, and he doesn’t think he deserves to be there.

He feels like an impostor.

But it is a sign of growth. It is a sign that you need to work harder and get better to adapt to this new level of responsibility.

This is what I tell most of my team or colleagues who feel like they have impostor syndrome.

I tell them that it just may be normal 🤷‍♂️

If you are honest with yourself and are sincerely trying to do good work, you don’t have anything to worry about. If you were an impostor, people more competent than you can easily sniff it out… and you’d be fired by now.

What to do about it, practically

Everything above is theory and mental reframing. I’m going to share some practical ways you can deal with feeling like an impostor… this stems from advice I’ve given my team and seen it work.

1 – Work Harder

If you feel like someone who’s been given an opportunity you don’t deserve (yet), make sure you work hard to become the person who deserves the opportunity eventually. See my SEO story above.

You should work, learn, and devote yourself fully to your new environment. Justify to the universe why you deserve to be given what you’re given right now.

2 – Prove Yourself Right

Many people feel impostorism when they think about how other people perceive them. You want to prove them wrong, but I want you to reframe this idea into proving yourself right.

Do you think you deserve to do this? Do you want to do it?

If yes, then good. Do it while feeling like an impostor… until you aren’t one.

And if you fail, you’ll learn to be better next time. You will be less of an impostor. Prove to yourself that you are good enough for the opportunity.

3 – Don’t Brag

Want a sure-fire way to feel like an impostor? Talk about things you don’t know about. Brag about the situation you're in (despite feeling internally that you don't deserve it).

We live in a culture of yapping. Everyone wants to talk big on social media about how much they’re crushing it.

Avoid the urge to celebrate and “build a brand” prematurely. First, put in the work and drive real-world outcomes. It’s boring and lonely. Then, build a brand (if you want!)

4 – Note Wins and Improvements

I have a system where I log one important win, no matter how small. This helps keep confidence high and makes you proud of yourself.

Logging your wins also focuses your daily behavior on making things happen that qualify as a win… thus improving your behavior and making you no longer an impostor.

To balance this, I also recommend writing down one place where you could’ve improved during that day. This system forces you to reflect and see what could be better. Looking at yesterday’s improvements into today’s wins gets you high!

5 – Don’t Overthink Negatives

One of the reasons you may feel like an impostor is you look at your faults and contrast them with other people's successes. Trust me, the successful people have probably felt like an impostor more times than you have even tried.

"The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”

― Stephen McCranie

Improving on your faults is helpful but can counteract if you’re at the deep end of “impostor syndrome.”

Self-criticism is okay, but don’t let it be a judgement of yourself as a person. Judge your work critically and do better each day.

Finishing Thoughts

If your muscles are sore when you lift slightly heavier at the gym, that doesn't make you weak. That simply means your muscles are adapting to the heavier load.

Feeling like an impostor can be a sign of growth and an opportunity to push yourself to adapt to a new level of challenge.

Instead of viewing it as some external syndrome, consider it a natural consequence of growth.

And work to justify the new level of commitment to yourself.

— Yash