5 TYPES OF IMPOSTER SYNDROME AND HOW IT HOLDS YOU BACK IN YOUR BUSINESS AS A FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR - LAUREN SMIT
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE TERM “ IMPOSTER SYNDROME ”, WHERE YOUR INNER CRITIC TELLS YOU THAT YOU SHOULDN ’ T BE HERE BECAUSE YOU ’ RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH , EVEN THOUGH ALL OF THE EVIDENCE TELLS US OTHERWISE ?
SOME OF YOU MIGHT KNOW THAT YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED IT , WHEN SOMEONE SHARES A SIMILAR STORY OF THEIR OWN IMPOSTER SYNDROME , BUT KNOWING WE HAVE IT ALONE DOESN ’ T REALLY HELP US BESIDES THAT WE NOW HAVE A NAME OR LABEL FOR IT .
BEFORE STARTING MY COACHING PRACTICE , I WAS IN THE BRAND DESIGN AND DONE-FOR-YOU MARKETING INDUSTRY AND LEARNT ABOUT BUSINESS COACHING THROUGH A FACEBOOK POST WHERE MY THEN-COACH OFFERED A FREE SESSION IN EXCHANGE FOR SOME BUSINESS CARD DESIGNS . THIS WAS THE START OF MY SELF-DISCOVERY JOURNEY AND WHERE I LEARNT THAT IMPOSTER SYNDROME HAS MORE TO IT THAN JUST FEELING LIKE “ I ’ M NOT GOOD ENOUGH ”.
SINCE THEN , WHICH IS NOW 4 YEARS AGO , I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MANAGE MY OWN IMPOSTER SYNDROME WITH WHAT I ’ M ABOUT TO SHARE WITH YOU TODAY , AND I ’ VE GONE ON TO HELPING OTHER FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS RECOGNISE HOW AND WHEN IMPOSTER SYNDROME IS HOLDING THEM BACK FROM GETTING CLIENTS AND MAKING MONEY IN THEIR BUSINESS .
YOU SEE , JUST LIKE ANY MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS , YOU HAVE THE OVERARCHING PROBLEM - NOT FEELING GOOD ENOUGH . THEN YOU HAVE THE DIFFERENT SYMPTOMS OF WHICH YOU MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING SOME OR ALL OF THEM BUT , MORE IMPORTANTLY , WHEN WE DIG DEEPER WE HAVE THE UNDERLYING CAUSE AND THAT ’ S WHERE THE REAL WORK STARTS SO THAT YOU CAN FREE YOURSELF OF YOUR INNER CRITIC AND ALLOW YOURSELF TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL , THRIVING BUSINESS .
SO LET ’ S DIG INTO THE FIVE TYPES OF IMPOSTER SYNDROME . I ’ LL SHARE A DESCRIPTION OF EACH SO THAT YOU CAN SEE IF YOU IDENTIFY WITH ANY AND THEN I WILL SHARE SOME ACTION STEPS THAT YOU CAN TAKE TO HELP YOU START THE PROCESS OF OVERCOMING IT .
HERE ’ S A LITTLE CAVEAT FOR YOU TO REMEMBER . YOU ARE TOTALLY NORMAL IF YOU RESONATE WITH ALL FIVE TYPES . SOME SITUATIONS CAUSE US TO EXPERIENCE ALL OF THEM AND IN OTHER SITUATIONS WE ONLY EXPERIENCE ONE TYPE .
THE FIRST ONE IS THE PERFECTIONIST IMPOSTER SYNDROME . IT ’ S EXACTLY WHAT IT IMPLIES , WHERE YOU DON ’ T FEEL GOOD ENOUGH IF EVERYTHING ISN ’ T PERFECT SO YOU SET UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS OR GOALS FOR YOURSELF AND WHEN YOU DON ’ T REACH THOSE GOALS YOUR INNER CRITIC FLARES UP .
THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE SPENDING 80 % OF YOUR TIME CREATING THE PERFECT GRAPHIC FOR YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA POST INSTEAD OF POSTING IT OR TRYING TO COME UP WITH A PERFECT ELEVATOR PITCH SO THAT IT SELLS TO SOMEONE ON THE SPOT .