Understanding the Imposter Syndrome

Hello everybody!

I've just published an article about the imposter syndrome and I thought it could be useful for some of you. Even if I published it on my blog for software developer, I believe anybody can take away something from it, hopefully.

In this article, I'm trying to answer these questions:

• What’s the imposter syndrome?
• What are the symptoms of the imposter syndrome?
• What leads to the imposter syndrome?
• Can everybody be victim of the imposter syndrome?
• What are the consequences of the imposter syndrome?
• How to overcome the imposter syndrome?

Key takeaways:

• The imposter cycle is an infinite loop where you’ll have bumps of satisfaction followed by anxiety and doubts, making any success bitter.
• The fear of failure (or the fear of success) can stop you for thriving in what you love doing. Try not comparing yourself to the others and be proud in what you achieved.
• If you want to be the best, you won’t make it. There is always somebody who seems better than us; instead, try to do your best, your way. Pinpoint your mistakes, and try to improve from there.
• True humility is a good quality. But humility doesn’t mean undermining our successes and the praises we receive. Having an accurate perception of our worth is important, too.
• It’s not clear where the imposter syndrome comes from, but our conception and high praise of intelligence doesn’t help us (or our peers) to have a good mental model of ourselves.
• Being on the imposter road for too long will undermine your mental health. Remember: health is the most important.
• We need to speak more about our own experiences regarding the imposter syndrome, to support each others. To tell the world that it’s fine to have these feelings.
• If you’re experiencing the imposter syndrome, you’re not alone. Speak about it with the persons you trust the most, the ones who can support you.
• I believe that the IT industry is a competitive mess where many of us claim knowing everything, even if we’re full of doubts and insecurities. The focus should be on what we’re building and how to make our users happy, not infinite debates which doesn’t improve anything.

I hope it can help some of you. Any feedback, positive or negative, is welcome!