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Careers are about the professional - but they're also personal. No matter your skill set, experience or background, your future means a lot to you. It's easy to get weighed down by feelings of pressure or struggle to balance your personal life, studies and finances with your budding career.

Whether you have the qualifications or not, sometimes you still feel like a total fraud. You keep thinking someone is sure to call you out any day now.

Feeling like this is a classic sign of imposter syndrome. It makes you feel incompetent even when you have all the skills and knowledge you need to succeed. If you let it, it can keep you from fulfilling your potential and achieving what you want.

What is imposter syndrome?

Let's first get to grips with what imposter syndrome is. It's a psychological phenomenon that makes you doubt your accomplishments and abilities, even if you have evidence to prove you have them. It leads you to worry that you'll be exposed as a fraud - that's where the 'imposter' part comes from.

Have you ever stopped yourself from contributing to a conversation because you think your point is too basic and will prove to everyone that you shouldn't be there? That's imposter syndrome.

If someone compliments you on your presentation and you assume they wouldn't have said that if they knew how terrified you were, (yep, you guessed it) that's imposter syndrome too.

These feelings can drive you to overachieve so you won't be 'found out'. It's a vicious cycle as you'll then start to think that burning yourself out is what you always have to do to succeed.

Imposter syndrome can also keep you from putting yourself forward for opportunities. If you don't trust your abilities and feel anxious about being outed for being incompetent, you're not going to take the calculated risks that can help you move forward.

When you're in the middle of it, it can feel as though you're the only one in the world who feels like this but it's very common.

And remember what we said about it being evidence-proof? People like Albert Einstein, Michelle Obama and Emma Watson have all admitted to feeling like complete fakers, despite their huge success. Albert Einstein. Let that sink in for a moment.

Click on the source link below and discover more on this subject ...

• Why do we experience imposter syndrome?
• How to know if you're suffering from imposter syndrome
• How to deal with imposter syndrome

Sources

Bright Network
Your guide to overcoming imposter syndrome

By Bright Network
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