I AM good enough… facing down imposter syndrome

Have you ever approached work, a presentation or a class only to be filled with a creeping sense of ‘I am not good enough for this’ or ‘I am not the most qualified to be here’ or ‘what do I have to offer here?’. Despite your training, your skills, your qualifications in the field -all of which qualify you to be there- you doubt yourself. It is as if your heart is saying one thing (doubt) and yet your head knows that of course you are able, of course you are qualified! This is Imposter Syndrome.

Imposter syndrome can be a disabling reality when we are forward-facing in our work.

It may be helpful to hear that imposter syndrome is more common than openly spoken about -yes, that sounds like an oxymoron… if it is not widely spoken about, then how can one make such a claim? Supervisory practice (which is of course a confidential space and I am referring in the text below to broad brush experiences rather than the experience of a particular client/colleague) reveals that poster syndrome is alive and well. It can appear out of nowhere or for some it can be an incremental and progressively debilitating reality. Like many experiences and fears, it can have a disproportionate place in our heads and hearts.

I have experienced it more times that I care to remember and now I am able to recognise it before it takes hold. It takes an honesty to recognise imposter syndrome for what it is and then an awareness to acknowledge it and to then regain control. For me, when I sense the uninvited arrival of ‘imposter syndrome’ I listen to my deeper and truer self-voice which tells me ‘I AM able to do this… I CAN do this… I DO know my subject.’ This can sound simplistic, but practice as a clinical pastoral supervisor has taught me that in so many areas of healthcare, the overly destructive voice of imposter syndrome can drown out our confident and assured voice and sense of personal or professional self. I have seen it in a number of disciplines and amongst professionals with many years of experience.

So, if this happens to you, you are not alone. You can turn up your more authentic voice, the voice that knows you best. If you recognise these feelings, consider bringing them to a professional clinical supervision session to help you re-discover your truer voice.

You ARE able, you ARE good enough, you DO know your material…