A study published in 2009 in the Journal of Personality found that self-compassion contributed to more consistent confidence. And since confidence is so important when it comes to fighting off imposter syndrome, self-care needs to be part of your regular routine. The next time you find yourself in a situation that is challenging, recognizing that failing or being imperfect is part of living and the best thing to use at this time is self-compassion.
Positive Self-TalkUsing self-talk will go along with our last part as well. Positive self-talk can help take some of that self-doubt away and some of the bad thoughts in your head and make them go away. Too many times we allow the negative self-talk to limit all of our abilities and even lessen our confidence more than before. We believe that we are not able to do something because it is too hard and se shouldn’t try for it. We assume that we don’t deserve recognition or a promotion because we aren’t smart enough or for some other reason.
The next time you start to notice some of those negative thoughts coming into your head, it is time to bring in some positive self-talk to help. Turn the negative into some of the positive. Think about some of the reasons why someone will choose you for the promotion or all of the reasons why you are being recognized for your hard work. Just because others work hard and have a lot of amazing accomplishments does not mean that you are not worthy of some of the praise and attention as well. Stop using negative self-talk to convince you that you do not belong or value.
Imposter syndrome will creep into your life for a wide variety of reasons. Being aware of how it will sneak into your life and improving your self-confidence will make a big difference in how much that imposter syndrome will take over your life. Self-confidence will not happen overnight, but with some practice and a little work, you can improve it and kick that imposter syndrome to the curb.
Thanks again!!
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It helps me to think critically. I want to do videos and have a YouTube channel.
I'm being stuck in doing it. What comes to my mind every time I started is -- this video should be perfect in the eyes of my former office staff and friends.
This is where I got stuck as I always strive for perfection in all that I do. Is this impostor syndrome? Looking forward to your thoughts on this. Thank you, in advance, Catherine.
All the best,
Letty
But that's a long story that I'll leave for now. Suffice to say that I lost confidence because of it.
I was always a high performer at school, but I believed I wasn't. I never thought that anyone else had noticed my dilemma, that was until about a year ago. It was at this time that I was reacquainted with several people from my primary school days. One who told me how she had always felt sorry for me and how I was treated by this bully boy and a certain teacher, strange thing was I didn't even remember the teacher. Another told me how they had avoided me because I was to intelligent, he was sorry for his actions.
I'm telling you this because, thanks to your article, I finally understand why I feel the way I do and what I can do about it.
I can't believe myself just what a profound affect your blog has had on me. I'm a big man, no longer young. I have achieved much, suffered much and have surrounded myself with a beautiful family. I have a great life, yet here I am opening myself up to you, with tears pouring out of my old eyes. Thank you Catherine. Jim
