Don't Let Imposter Syndrome Stop You

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Imposter Syndrome is a debilitating belief that you are incompetent; even if you are a highly successful individual. It can stop you from reaching your full potential and limit your ability to achieve. It will make you feel like you don't deserve the success you've worked so hard to achieve and that can lead to anxiety, depression, and lowered self-worth. The truth is, that you will encounter Imposter Syndrome at some point in life, and it will attempt to take away the success you deserve. That's why I want to urge you in this writing to remain persistent with your goals and dreams so Imposter Syndrome doesn't stop you.

In 2014, I joined a professional speakers organization that was filled with speakers making up to $25,000 or more an hour. I decided to join their new professional speakers academy so that I could learn the business of professional speaking as well as continue to hone my speaking skills.

This organization was first brought to my attention by a professional speaker who saw me speaking at a speech competition. The blond haired lady named Lauren walked up to me and said "You should get paid to speak. You are very good." Confused and in disbelief about her assertion I asked "Who pays people to speak. Is that even possible?" "Of course it is." "Show me someone who gets paid to speak and I'll sign-up." I said jokingly. "Well I'm a professional speaker who gets paid to speak and I want to bring you as my guest to an organization that helps people like you hone and monetize your message."

That encounter is what led to me visiting and joining the professional speaker organization that I was now paying thousands of dollars to learn the business of professional speaking. The great thing about the new speakers academy is they assign you a mentor that is highly successful to help you during your progress. I was assigned Robert who was one of the most successful speakers in the entire academy and after he watched some of my film he said "You are very gifted storyteller and I believe you can do good in this industry."

Both Lauren and Robert had a belief in my potential as a speaker but unfortunately I didn't have that belief in myself. I had won numerous speaking competitions, got paid to speak at high schools, and I even ran a program in a juvenile detention center. But despite all of that, I felt like an imposter; like someone who didn't deserve the success I was having.

It didn't hit me how much this was affecting me until I went to a professional speaker seminar with the other speakers in the speakers academy. Even though I was doing better than most of those speakers, I still felt like I was not deserving to be there. Seasoned professional speakers would introduce me to other seasoned speakers and brag on my work ethic and ability to communicate. I was even given an opportunity to teach my storytelling techniques to these speakers but I turned it down because I didn't feel I was qualified. It was frustrating that others had more belief in me than I had in myself and I was tired of it.

One night I was reading an online article, and Imposter Syndrome was mentioned. This was something I never heard of but I felt it. It was mentioned throughout the article how people can work hard, obtain success, and feel they don't deserve to be successful. This Imposter Syndrome diluted their sense of achievement by making them feel like an imposter.

I realized that Imposter Syndrome was affecting me by preventing me from taking on additional opportunities and enjoying the success I'd already obtained. I read other material on Imposter Syndrome and I learned that it's enhanced through our self-talk. The things we say to ourselves on a consistent basis will create our belief about ourselves. You see I'd been telling myself that I was not deserving of my success, even though I had worked hard for it. My negative self-talk was making me feel like an imposter.

What I decided to do, in order to overcome my Imposter Syndrome, was to first change my internal dialogue. Whenever people complimented me for my speaking ability, I started paying attention to the negative things I was saying to myself subconsciously. The one thing I noticed that I kept saying to myself that was empowering my Imposter Syndrome was "You're not that good of a speaker, you've just been lucky."

Tying my achievements as a speaker to luck instead of my own efforts was the reason I was feeling like an imposter. To combat my Imposter Syndrome feeding thought, I started saying to myself "I'm Healthy, I'm Wealthy, I'm a Powerful Motivational Speaker". I also started putting actions behind my affirmation by putting courageous actions behind my words. For example, I called the guy who offered me the opportunity to teach my storytelling techniques to seasoned professional speakers and let him know that I had changed my mind. I wanted to defeat my Imposter Syndrome with my words and actions so by teaching the storytelling workshop that I originally turned down, gave me the perfect opportunity to do so.

Using my empowering affirmation daily helped me to conduct a very successful storytelling workshop. I stood in front of that group of seasoned professional speakers and taught my storytelling techniques with confidence because I no longer felt like an imposter. I knew that I belonged, so Imposter Syndrome could no longer stop me!

Is Imposter Syndrome stopping you? Are you avoiding opportunities in your life because you believe you don't deserve them despite your hard work? Do you feel like an imposter even though your results say different. If so, its time to put an end to your Imposter Syndrome stopping you.

It's time to stop missing out on new opportunities because you think you do not deserve them! It's time to stop avoiding new risks because you feel that you are an impostor so that you can enjoy the success that you have labored so hard to achieve.

As illustrated in this writing, here are two things you can do to overcome Imposter Syndrome:

1. Write your main goal or dream you would like to achieve in your life that you are suffering from Imposter Syndrome. Write down your most potent thought that has been feeding it.

2. Write an empowering statement (affirmation) that will combat your negative thought and say it to yourself on a daily basis in order to prevent Imposter Syndrome from dominating your mind.

3. Challenge yourself by taking bold action towards your goal or dream. Write down an action step you can take in the next week that will allow you to put action behind your empowering affirmation. Make sure the step you take is one that your Imposter Syndrome would normally prevent you from taking.

Imposter Syndrome can be a major obstacle in your life if you allow it to be. But by taking bold action with your empowerment statements, you can prevent it from stopping you from realizing your goals and dreams because You Are WORTHY TO BE GREAT!!

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