Pushing Past the Imposter: Turning Discomfort into Success
WORDS BY ANTONINA JOSON
Picture this: in front of you is an opportunity to fulfil a lifelong goal, just within arm’ s reach. You feel a strong pull towards it, an urge to grab it; but suddenly, a flash of self-doubt stirs your confidence. You were so close! But the voice in your head fills you with insecurity,“ I’ m not talented enough for this,”“ There are more capable people for this,” or“ They’ ll reject me anyway.”
That voice isn’ t you— it’ s your imposter syndrome, striking fear to protect you from an imaginary threat. But that’ s all there is to that threat, it doesn’ t exist. The voice of the imposter syndrome is only creating the feeling of a threat without proof or validation.
While it sounds difficult, there’ s a way to defy the imposter syndrome and it takes uncomfortable courage to make it work.
Professional development trainer and success strategy coach Lisa Panarello tackles exactly how to do so in her talk,“ Uncomfortable Courage: A Catalyst for Positive Change,” presented at the 2025 Australasian Fleet & Leadership Summit.
HOW TO PROCESS SELF-DOUBT
For some, the voice of the imposter syndrome is strong and can easily be construed as their own. While self-doubt is normal, it doesn’ t mean that it should be the norm. When a flash of doubt strikes, there’ s an opportunity for us to channel courage and push past it, no matter how uncomfortable it seems.
During her talk, Lisa explained the process on how to push through self-doubt and use discomfort to your advantage.
1. Welcome the voice of your imposter syndrome.
It may sound counterintuitive, but the first step to confronting the voice of the imposter syndrome is to welcome it. The voice often comes back, so why deny its presence any longer?
You can turn your relationship with the imposter syndrome’ s voice positive. First, acknowledge its presence but don’ t let it get ahead of you. The sooner you accept that it exists, the easier it is to separate it from your own voice.
6 ISSUE 56 DECEMBER 2025 / WWW. AFMA. ORG. AU