{"id":1459,"date":"2022-08-08T12:04:40","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T12:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/?p=1459"},"modified":"2026-03-16T08:25:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T08:25:34","slug":"how-to-manage-imposter-syndrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/news-and-advice\/lifestyle-wellbeing\/how-to-manage-imposter-syndrome\/","title":{"rendered":"Imposter Syndrome and How to Manage It"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spotlight’s Mental Health and Wellbeing manager explains what imposter syndrome is and offers techniques to help you deal with it.<\/h3>\n

Imposter syndrome is one of the most common topics that I coach performers on. I\u2019m fascinated by it – having also struggled with it myself for many years. Feelings of uncertainty are an expected and normal part of everyday life and\u00a0an estimated 70% of people experience \u2018imposter\u2019 feelings at some point in their lives<\/a>. But the great news is that you can learn to manage it.<\/p>\n

What is imposter syndrome?<\/h4>\n

Imposter syndrome – the idea that you\u2019ve only succeeded due to luck, and not because of your talent or qualifications – was first identified in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes.\u00a0It can loosely be defined as a pattern of self-doubt where we\u00a0doubt our abilities and feel like a fraud. Even the word \u2018imposter\u2019 conjures feelings of being unsure, uncertain or anxious. Add to that the medical undertone of \u2018syndrome\u2019 and the terminology feels neither helpful nor empowering.<\/p>\n

Our mind is trying to help us<\/h4>\n

You\u2019re probably familiar with the term \u2018inner critic\u2019 (IC) or \u2018saboteur\u2019. If you\u2019ve watched\u00a0RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u00a0then you\u2019ll know that RuPaul often uses this phrase to console queens when he thinks they’re self-sabotaging. Self-doubt is the fuel of the inner critic.\u00a0When we take a risk or step out of a comfort zone, it’s like an inner alarm goes off, waking up the inner critic, who is desperately trying to maintain the status quo.<\/p>\n

The inner critic\u00a0is designed to ensure our survival and hates change because\u00a0our minds are designed to keep us safe. The\u00a0IC will have all the reasons\/beliefs\/assumptions\/perspectives to help maintain the status quo – and this shows up as a pattern of self-doubt which we call \u2018Imposter Syndrome\u2019. The more \u2018on purpose\u2019 the idea\/thing\/situation is, the louder the IC will become. So the sign of the IC can indicate you are doing something that is important to you.<\/p>\n

The language and behaviour of the inner critic<\/h4>\n

To manage self-doubt, we have to master the language and behaviours of the inner critic. You might recognise it as insecure thoughts such as \u2018is this the right thing?\u2019, \u2018What will others say?\u2019, \u2018If I do it this way, then a lot of problems and challenges will come up\u2026\u2019 The language we use is often a great indicator of how we\u2019re feeling about something.<\/p>\n

Other inner critic signs include:<\/p>\n