Many people who have reached great heights in their life are afraid to speak in front of the public. They think that they have practically nothing to tell about themselves. In their own opinion, there is nothing interesting in the story of their life, and any success is the result of a lucky combination of circumstances, but not hard work at a high professional level. A speaker who is self-conscious will never be truly interesting to the public under any circumstances. He will not be able to call his listeners to anything. Making a great impression by a speech on a really serious and important topic will not work, too.
Nevertheless, people who are embarrassed to speak publicly should not despair. The problem has already been found, and there is a solution for it. The case when a person stops believing in himself without any reason is called the impostor syndrome. This syndrome prevents a person from being charismatic and attractive to an audience. Impostor syndrome prevents people from telling their thoughts in attractive way to other people. Anything that interferes with communication can be fixed, but a person must make an effort on their own.
Impostor syndrome: how this term appeared
Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes became the authors of the article "The Impostor Phenomenon in High Achieving Women" in 1979. This publication described the results of the research on the mental health of successful women who considered themselves to be deceivers. The feeling of the falsity of one's own success has been called the impostor syndrome. The study helped to discover the main features of this syndrome.
If a person with impostor syndrome has to achieve any goal, he goes through several reactions. Firstly, he is worried and works very hard because of his worry. Thus, the maximum amount of resources is spent, even if it was possible to save them without harm to the case. Secondly, when the work is finished and the goal is achieved, the person feels relieved. However, this feeling disappears very quickly if there are some positive assessment from other people.
A person feels guilty when success is achieved. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that a person is afraid of becoming rejected by society. Such thoughts are caused by the belief that society despises everyone who stands out in any way. In addition, there is confidence that it is impossible to be the best because of the high level of competition: this means that any efforts are meaningless. On the other hand, a person is afraid that he will not meet the expectations that society has already placed on him. Thus, he becomes very demanding of himself. A person with impostor syndrome believes that he must meet very high standards, which are almost impossible to achieve.
Why do people suffer from impostor syndrome?
There may be several reasons for the development of impostor syndrome.
- Perfectionism, developed over time. A person constantly compares his achievements with the achievements of other people. He believes that he should be perfect, even if from a rational point of view it is impossible or not necessary at all.
- The parenting method chosen by the parents. Parents could not pay attention to the success of the child. If they noticed only the failures of their offspring, he could remember for the rest of his life that his achievements did not matter at all.
- Fear of criticism. A person tries to pass off his achievements as less important so that he himself is less noticeable. Thus, he may not be noticed by people who are able to criticize him.
What are the types of impostors
Valerie Young is a specialist in the field of behavioral therapy, as well as the author of the book "Secret Thoughts of successful Women". She is recognized as an expert all over the world. From her point of view, people with impostor syndrome can be divided into five distinct types.
1. First of all, they can be perfectionists who want to make everything absolutely great.
2. The other type can be described as a "born genius". In the past, person made a mistake and did not achieve success, and then became disappointed in life, because not every goal is easy to achieve.
3. Impostors can be too fixated on individualism. They tend to cope on their own even when they really need to ask for help.
4. Someone, for whom it is very important that others confirm his coolness, can be called a superman or a superwoman.
5. Finally, the expert variety of the impostor is sure of the meaninglessness of the existing knowledge and skills if it is not possible to find the right solution in a difficult situation.
Each of these species is related to the others. Several types of impostor can be combined in one person, periodically changing places. One or two of the types will be in the foreground, while the rest will wait for the moment to appear. Working with the mentality is necessary for the personality development.
Getting rid of Impostor syndrome: tips
Today, the successful promotion of a personal brand depends on the ability to communicate with other people. It becomes impossible to successfully conduct negotiations or make a presentation without a high level of communication skills. It is difficult for people with impostor syndrome to introduce themselves to new acquaintances effectively. People need to get rid of this mental trap. Otherwise, people with this syndrome can harm greatly to their own business.
- Firstly, there is no point in comparing yourself with other people. Each person is valuable in his own way. Everyone has their own speed of work, as well as personal goals that they want to achieve.
- Secondly, you need to develop those qualities that bring you some joy. It makes sense to raise the level of those skills that will allow you to work at a really interesting things.
- In any case, it is allowed to make mistakes. In addition, it is impossible to gain valuable experience without mistakes. Moreover, people who are not mistaken will not know which skills they should pay the most attention to when developing. Risky actions will help to cope with the fear of making a mistake.
Any success is worthy of praise. It is worth praising and rewarding yourself even for small achievements in any field.
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