Among Us
by Adrienne Lynch
My kids play a game called Among Us. The object of the game is for multiple different colored characters to move about trying to discover which of the characters is the imposter. Starting a new job is very similar to that. In my new position I’m suffering hard from imposter syndrome. The idea that one day one of my colleagues will discover that I’m the imposter. After spending a decade in the world of education I finally decided to make the leap from the career field I thought would be my forever. When I entered education I entered as a lifer. I just knew I was destined to do this forever, but burn out had other plans. 10 years later I found myself in a spot where I knew I could no longer bring the best of myself to my career, so at the end of the school year I packed it all up knowing I wouldn’t return again. I began a new career where I knew I would be happy and would be able to highlight my skills again but I wasn’t ready for the steep, unforgiving learning curve. To wake up everyday not knowing what you’re doing, sitting in meetings that sound like a foreign language and not knowing your place in it all is SCARY! The best course of action for me was to intake as much knowledge as I could and then from there-fake it til I make it. I would spend my days trying to pick up on things/terms being used hoping that no one noticed I’m the newbie who has absolutely no idea what I’m doing or even what is going on. I’m the imposter! For me it’s hard being the “imposter” because I start to feel inadequate and vulnerable. I don’t like it. So I go extra hard trying to consume any and all the knowledge that I can, hoping it will propel me from this space of imposter to a space of belonging. Then I think back on my kids game and how every round the character who is the imposter changes. Which leads me to wonder could it be that we are all an Among Us character’s milling about in our lives each taking a turn at one point or another being the imposter.
In my quest to overcome some of the feelings of imposter syndrome I have come up with some strategies that I’ve found helpful:
Freedom Cycle: I am often my worst critic. If everyone around says whatever I did was absolutely perfect I can find at least 45,000 things wrong with it. The Freedom Cycle helps me recognize what is happening and learn to be ok with it.
Awareness, Alignment, Action: It can be difficult to identify the moment an imposter voice begins to get loud. To regulate the imposter voice, it is helpful to learn the signs that activate imposter syndrome. When imposter syndrome is activated, I choose to find time to stop and reflect on the experience so I become aware of the signals that will help me get ahead of the imposter voice before it takes over.
Celebrate small wins: We often focus on big wins and forget about the little things, but a win is a win! Celebrate them all!
Challenge limiting beliefs with evidence: Our mind is such a powerful thing and it can make us hold strong to beliefs that may not necessarily be true. We have to fight against those beliefs using real life evidence. For example, I thought for the longest time I thought no one carried about my opinion or what I had to say. Now I recognize when people ask me for my opinion and take my advice. The evidence has helped me challenge my limiting beliefs.
Ask for help: We can all use a shoulder to lean on, or someone to support us. Don’t be afraid to reach out and seek support when you need it.
Journal: Write it out! I LOVE writing and sometimes just getting those imposter feelings out on paper is all I need to release it!
Grace: Giving myself grace is probably the hardest thing for me to do but is so necessary. I have to give myself the space to make mistakes and still know it’s going to be ok.
Leave a comment below and tell us some of the strategies you use to cope with imposter syndrome? Let’s help each other out!