The reason why so many of us, particularly women, struggle with imposter syndrome is that our society teaches us that there is always more we should be doing, Hattie said.
She said: “We’re taught that we ‘should’ be turning our hobbies into profitable side-hustles, waking up three hours earlier to meditate, striving for bigger salaries or for more power at work – the list goes on.
“The constant pressure to do more enables us to believe that we are currently not doing enough. The impact of this? Never feeling good enough. Never feeling like you’re the best person for the job, or for your partner, or at home.
“With imposter syndrome, you’ll be left feeling sure someone else would do x, y and z better than you.
“Here-in starts the vicious cycle. You start with not feeling good enough and scared to be discovered, so you work extra hard or crazy hours (hello burnout) in order to make sure you’re as prepared as you could possibly be.
“The problem with imposter syndrome is that it doesn’t disappear once you do something well, or prove your negative thought pattern wrong. It’s as if your mind can’t internalise your exterior successes.”
In order to tackle imposter syndrome, you need to face it head-on, acknowledge what you’re feeling and become curious about why you might be feeling that way.
Hattie has revealed six simple ways to beat imposter syndrome.
