If there’s one thing I experienced during my time at IU, it’s the fear that I’m not as qualified as my peers. I’m not saying it’s because of the environment at IU, but I can’t help but wonder why everything I do, academically and otherwise, feels like a competition.
As I interview for internships over the summer and take classes with less experience than other students, I constantly battle with myself to see what more I can do to succeed. I, like everyone else, am fully aware that I have skills that others don’t have, but I can’t help but feel a strong desire to impress. yeah. If you keep telling yourself that you should do more, be better, or aim higher, you’ll never win.
By definition, con man syndrome Even though you are objectively performing well, you are too anxious to recognize your own accomplishments. Even when sharing definitions, I feel I need to include a disclaimer that I am in no way bragging about my accomplishments.
Becoming an adult means untying the knot in your throat while having goals to accomplish.
This leads to the next point. Why did I end up like this? I believe that when you experience impostor syndrome, your own insecurities begin to form in various ways. Sometimes we feel an excessive need to control everything. Perhaps the fear of failure is so suffocating that you can’t imagine anything worse.
Even if you have achieved something great, it is difficult to admit it to yourself. Sure, I may have sat at my kitchen table crying over the statistics, but even if I passed the exam, I still felt like I wasn’t good enough.
The big caveat with this whole topic is that even if I don’t have a clear reason as to why I feel that way inside, ultimately I still feel that way. Not surprisingly, almost everyone I’ve talked to about impostor syndrome seems to feel exactly the same way on a regular basis. Our generation is under extreme pressure to be perfect, even though perfectionism is an unattainable goal.
Sometimes the easiest path to self-acceptance is to confront your judgments of others.
If I had any advice on how to combat these feelings, trust me, I would. Luckily, our friends at Harvard Business Review have shared some tips that we can all benefit from. As I was endlessly searching for reasons why I felt this way, Kes Erteja said,you are not a scammer, you are actually a very nice person,”, Impostor syndrome is usually heightened when trying something new. Whether it’s a responsibility, a hobby, or a new role, Elteya urges us to keep a positive mindset. This is easier said than done, but with practice I’ve found that by constantly reminding myself to celebrate all my accomplishments, I stop feeling like a fraud.
It was a tough challenge, but I realized that as long as my accomplishments last. my I feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. In other words, if we don’t seek reassurance from others that we’re doing well, we become satisfied with our own abilities and successes.
If there is anything I can leave you with, it is to remind yourself that you are not alone in feeling this way. It seems like an unspoken theme, but we’ve all felt like we’re not good enough at some point. I too sometimes feel like my brain is exhausted, but that’s the only thing you have to live with for the rest of your life. So please do your best to create a livable city.
Talia Aleman (she) is a third-year student studying journalism and public relations.