The imposter syndrome finds fertile ground among master’s and doctoral students.

Do you ever get that feeling of not being as good, smart, smart and productive as everyone says you are? Trust me, most highly productive people feel that way.

In the competitive environment of a graduate program, this feeling, which is common among students who are studying or aspire to pursue a master’s/doctoral degree or are already taking a graduate course, can profoundly impact academic performance.

What is the imposter syndrome?

Who has never felt this way? After having given countless proofs of your academic and intellectual capacity, you feel that your place is not there.

There are many people who are interested in taking a stricto sensu postgraduate  course , but spend years on end without even undergoing the selection process. The reason? Many feel they are not capable enough to attend a course. They placed master’s and doctoral degrees at such a high level that they do not feel worthy of participating in academia.

Worse, many feel they are a fraud, even after they have been successful in many aspects of their lives. They are excellent professionals, have already published in reputable academic journals and perhaps have even passed the selection process and are enrolled in the Masters/Doctorate. But even so, they feel they don’t belong in that environment.

Difficulty in accepting your own merits is characteristic of the imposter syndrome

A characteristic of the imposter syndrome is the feeling that the successes achieved in academic life resulted from “chance” or “luck”, because they do not see what results from their competence and effort. They routinely play down their own role in the results they get and find external factors to explain why they’ve done well so far. Although they have recognized merit, many try to undermine their own chances of success using strategies to not achieve it.

Some examples of the most invoked pretexts to avoid success: they leave everything to be done at the last minute because, if they are not successful, they have the “excuse” that they didn’t have time; they do not engage to fill posts where they could use their capabilities fully; seek to hide in less meaningful activities. Thus, they avoid being evaluated and settle down, believing that it is the most correct way to remain “invisible” and nobody discovers that they are, in fact, a fraud (when they are not!).

The syndrome was discovered forty years ago by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes of the University of Georgia. In an article published in 1978, they described the situation of women who, despite being extremely successful professionally and academically, were self-boycotting and considered themselves imposters. In the 1980s, Gail Matthews (Dominican University of California) and Pauline Clance discovered that the phenomenon affected men as well. In fact, up to 70% of successful people could be diagnosed with the syndrome at some point in their lives.

Main symptoms of imposter syndrome

The main symptoms of the imposter syndrome are as follows:

• Perfectionism: victims of the syndrome seek to be extremely satisfied with their work and, therefore, tend to postpone its completion indefinitely. They believe that they will never be able to reach the expected level and suffer from high levels of anxiety, doubt and concern for not being able to achieve a result worthy of the intended standard.

• They minimize the success achieved: those who suffer from the syndrome tend to focus on the challenges to be overcome, quickly forgetting the successes achieved so far.
• “Workaholic”: in order to mask the self-perceived (and false) incompetence, those who suffer from the imposter syndrome usually work too hard to ensure that no one “discovers” their “fake” and unmasks them.
• They do not consider themselves worthy of sincere praise: many of the victims understand that they do not deserve the success and recognition achieved and, for this reason, they feel uncomfortable when they are sincerely praised. Therefore, they attribute their success to factors such as luck, chance…

The syndrome, although common in academia, is not limited to it. Even famous actors are or were victims of the disease. The award-winning Meryl Streep, for example, has already said in an interview: “Why would anyone watch me in a movie again? And I don’t know how to act, how am I doing it?”. Likewise, the brilliant Natalie Portman assumed that “when I entered Harvard right after the release of Star Wars: Episode I, I was afraid people would assume I got there just because I was famous, not because I was worthy of intellectual rigor.”

And we could cite many others, from Tom Hanks to Kate Winslet, passing through Jodie Foster and Ryan Reynolds. If those out there feel like imposters, imagine what is left for mere mortals? We who have to kill our lions every single day?

Ten Strategies to Overcome the Imposter Syndrome

The characteristics of the academic milieu, as well as those of cinema and the artistic milieu in general, help to drive feelings of inadequacy, failure and unworthiness of the achieved success. Duke University College of Arts and Sciences Dean (appointed 2015), Valerie Ashby, is an example of the problem in universities. Despite having won numerous awards in her career, the teacher did not feel worthy of what she achieved on her own merits. To overcome the syndrome, the teacher followed ten basic strategies that helped her leave her feeling of inadequacy behind and embrace her own success as deserved.

• Break the silence .

One of the characteristics of the imposter syndrome is that it seeks to “hide under the rug” the dust of one’s mistakes. This strategy avoids being exposed to the feelings of being a fraud and that the success achieved is not deserved. The shame of their own success, resulting from the syndrome, ends up causing many to remain silent about their feelings. It is important to talk about it with other people – co-workers, friends, family or even professionals.

• Distinguish feelings and facts .

We all feel like failures – sometimes justifiably, sometimes not. It is important to distinguish these situations. Are we right to feel like failures and stupidities? Or are we wrong and overreacting to a situation?

• Recognize when you might actually feel like a fraud .

It is natural that, from time to time, we feel that success is not deserved. Especially when we’re starting a new career, it’s common to feel awkward and think “I’m behind” others. Rather than considering this a sign of ineptitude, it is more productive to recognize it as a natural response for someone who recently did not actually belong to that milieu and, therefore, it takes time to adapt to the demands from the academic world.

• Accentuate your positive aspects and forgive your own mistakes .

Being a perfectionist is not necessarily wrong. It means you are committed to achieving good results and giving your best. But it’s not healthy to try to be perfect in everything, to obsess that everything you do must be perfect. There are tasks that must be performed perfectly and others that simply perform satisfactorily. And making mistakes is part of the game – so forgive yourself when mistakes and imperfections happen. It is almost always possible to fix the situation and get around it.

• Learn from your own mistakes and move on .

More than successes, mistakes teach many invaluable lessons that can boost your future. Therefore, recognize yourself as an imperfect human being, who still has a lot to evolve. Fix errors when possible and follow your journey.

• You have the right to be wrong as much as anyone else .

People with imposter syndrome usually follow wrong behavioral patterns. They always demand to know the answer and do not like to ask others for help, but they recognize that all their colleagues have the right to make mistakes, not knowing one or another information and asking for help. Why do others have this right and you don’t? Demand from yourself the right to be equal to others.

• Develop new auto-reaction scripts.

The “script” is your automatic mental response to specific situations. People with imposter syndrome tend to have “scripts” that trigger feelings of ineptitude and failure in certain situations. Instead of thinking it’s a fraud, why not recognize its limitations, show interest and try to learn how to deal with new situations?

• Visualize your success.

Rather than visualizing your failure, think about what will happen when everything goes well and you reach your goals. How will you feel? How will you celebrate your success? What will the concrete situation be like? Exercise your imagination and visualize your success, even if it seems unattainable – such as your presentation, writing your project or taking the exam. We often do the opposite – we visualize failure and, not by chance, that’s what we get. Why not do otherwise and imagine your own success?

• Reward your little successes.

Be sure to celebrate your own success. It is easy, after an achievement, to forget its importance and then move on to other goals. But it is essential to celebrate and celebrate your achievements, however small they may be. If you have published an article, celebrate with your loved one or a happy hour with friends. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. But celebrate!

• Pretend what you want to be until you become what you want .

There’s no way: until you are what you want, you won’t be. But you can only succeed if you try. Rather than using this as an excuse, learn from whoever is in the place you want to occupy. Imitate their most complimentary and professional behaviors and discard what you don’t admire. But don’t expect to become confident enough to play the roles you need right away. Pretend first, and in time you will become who you want to be.

Changing your attitude is the secret

The great secret of the strategies followed by the teacher is a change in attitude, even if it is difficult. We must change how we see ourselves and how we judge ourselves in relation to others. Are we not very demanding about our own performance, while we tolerate more the mistakes of others? Don’t we end up putting ourselves down in relation to others, while we should look to our own merits? But is there any sense in that? No. It is necessary to recognize its value and savor each of its achievements throughout its trajectory. I’m sure that, looking back, we all overcame great difficulties and had great success stories in this process. You have to recognize this and not let your sense of self-criticism speak louder.

Having the notion that the imposter syndrome exists is important to reflect on if we are not succumbing to it. Could you have achieved more than you already achieved, but ended up settling down? Do you consider yourself an imposter, someone who doesn’t deserve what he’s already achieved, and therefore doesn’t take on greater responsibilities? Do you accept the compliments you receive well? Reflecting on these issues requires great maturity, but can bring enormous results for your academic and professional success.