Have you ever heard about imposter syndrome? Probably. Have you ever lived it? Probably too. I certainly have. 

Welcome to an all-new three-part series about imposter syndrome. Today, we will be understanding how exactly it works, and why it happens. Watch the following video or keep reading...

Imposter syndrome is a psychological state. We are making it up. It's about self-doubt: We believe that we don't have the skills to accomplish what others can do, despite the fact that we may be very successful. People with imposter syndrome live in constant fear that someone is going realize that they don't really deserve to hold the position that they're in. In a lot of organizations, some people feel like imposters. A lot of entrepreneurs have their own businesses and feel like imposters. I certainly am part of that as well.

But is this really a bad thing? Let's dig a little further into imposter syndrome. It can have some benefits. Two of the things that cause imposter syndrome are a high sense of accomplishment, as well as perfectionism. Let's start by looking into perfectionism.

People that want things to be perfect will work harder at things, right? Perfectionism can be a good thing... Until it gets you stuck. In small doses, it makes you improve. Just like perfectionism, imposter syndrome, in very small doses, could make you work harder so that you succeed. Now, the reason we have a problem with imposter syndrome in the perfectionism aspect of it is because not only do we want to be perfect, we also don't see others' flaws. We see only our own. We see the world through pink lenses and think other people don't have problems nor flaws. 

Well, they do! Everybody does.

This causes for us to feel like a fraud, because we know our flaws, but we don't know everybody else's. We believe that everybody else is perfect, and for that reason, we feel like we are an imposter.

The second thing I mentioned was the high sense of accomplishment. For someone with a high sense of accomplishment, it will never be good enough, because they have very high standards. Don't you wanna work with somebody that has high standards? Absolutely. Having high standards is a good thing, it makes you deliver a better quality of service or a better final product. But, once again, in small doses only. How does that translate to imposter syndrome? The reason why imposter syndrome can be detrimental to us is when we it gets us stuck and keeps us from moving into action. If our standards are way too high, we'll never be ready to actually launch our business, to ask someone to work with us, or to ask for that raise or apply for that higher position at work.

This causes for us to lose our confidence compass. All of a sudden, we are not confident in our capabilities anymore and that is when imposter syndrome becomes a problem. That's when we can experience a drop in performance, because we may start thinking: "Why bother?" It's like we're always operating on a low tank and we constantly have to fill our tank with praise and with people telling you that you're good enough. 

If you believe that you don't belong, that everybody else is better than you and that you have to work harder, you're constantly stressed just trying to catch up. You need to get rid of this imposter syndrome!

Next week, we're going to go over some tools we can use to face that imposter syndrome. See you there!

WHAT'S KEEPING YOU FROM LAUNCHING THAT BUSINESS?

Is imposter syndrome keeping you from launching that new business? What's holding you back from offering the best service or the best product you can? 

Download your copy of the 10 Keys to a Successful Business and get the clarity you need to get started quickly.

The Guide includes:

• What are the Main Keys to a Successful Business?
• What Elements Should you Have in Place to Begin With?
• Powerful Questions to get you Started.
• Full Implementation Guide to Kick Off your Business.