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Maybe this sounds familiar: you receive a compliment about your work and think, "If they really knew how I did it, they wouldn’t be so enthusiastic." Or you start something new and secretly wonder, "Who am I to do this?" Meanwhile, those around you are genuinely impressed by what you do.
That persistent feeling that you might be exposed at any moment, as if you haven’t truly earned your success—that’s the imposter syndrome. You attribute your achievements to luck or coincidence instead of your own abilities. And this feeling doesn’t just occur in people who are just starting out. In fact, smart, sensitive, and ambitious people often struggle with it the most.
The imposter syndrome was first described by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978. They discovered that successful women often couldn’t internalize their accomplishments and were constantly afraid of being found out. Nowadays, we know that this phenomenon affects men too, and people of all ages.
Failure
In psychology, one of the things we look at is the effect of conditioning. If, during your childhood, you were often praised for being smart (“You’re so clever!”) rather than for your effort or perseverance (“You worked so hard!”), you might grow up to only feel worthy when something comes easily.
When something takes effort, it feels like failure. You subconsciously learn that success equals effortless performance. And if something doesn’t come naturally (which is inevitable when facing new challenges), your brain concludes: See? I’m not good enough.
Another factor is what's known as attribution bias—the tendency to explain success with external factors (“That was just pure luck,” “I just got an easy question”) and failure with internal ones (“I’m just not good enough”).
People with imposter syndrome are especially prone to this. They underestimate their own impact on positive outcomes and overestimate their role in mistakes or setbacks. As a result, they develop less and less confidence in their own abilities, even if they’re objectively doing very well.
And then there’s social comparison. You compare your own doubts and struggles (which you feel internally) with the apparent ease of others (which you only see from the outside). Combine that with perfectionism, a critical inner voice, and high standards, and you’ve got fertile ground for imposter syndrome.
Recognition
So what can you do about it? The first step is recognizing when imposter syndrome is at play. Realizing that your thoughts don’t always tell the truth. You’re not the only one who feels this way, and it doesn’t mean you’re not capable. On the contrary. Often, it’s a sign that you take yourself seriously and feel a strong sense of responsibility.
It helps to practice self-compassion—acknowledging your successes, even when they felt ‘easy.’ Learning to recognize your limits, even when your mind tells you that you should have done more. And sometimes, it helps tremendously to talk about it with someone who understands how you think.
Do you recognize yourself in this? Do you often doubt yourself, even though you rationally know you’re capable? As a coach, I’d be happy to help you gain insight into where that feeling comes from and how to deal with it. Feel free to message me if you’d like to know more.
