Do you ever feel as if your success paints a more attractive picture of your true abilities and intelligence? Does this make you fear being exposed as an imposter in your field of supposed expertise? It turns out these feelings are completely normal and in fact, common enough to be given a title. Since imposter syndrome largely affects high-achiever individuals, the STEM field is a perfect breeding ground for these thoughts. Despite your evident success, when surrounded by the brightest minds in STEM, feelings of inadequacy are bound to happen. Luckily, this guide will help you identify if you are selling yourself short and provide tips on how to reframe your mindset.
Written by Simrit Rana
The First Step: Recognition
Identification of a psychological issue is the first step in improving your mental health. When confronted with the following symptoms, it's important to keep track of where you are and who you are surrounded with, as these are key indicators of what changes to implement in your daily routine.
1) An overwhelming fear of failure
You feel a great deal of pressure to not fail, in order to avoid being "exposed" as someone who is showing more knowledge of expertise than they actually possess.
Ex: After a presentation, you fear asking the audience if they have any questions, in case you are exposed as incompetent, even though you know you have researched your topic substantially.
2) An inability to internalize your accomplishments
An inability to internalize your accomplishments actors, such as luck, instead of your internal attributes. By labelling an achievement as a fluke, you alleviate some of the anxiety associated with having to prove yourself again, since you're not sure you'll ever be able to. Ex: If you receive an acceptance for your preferred university program, you may believe the admissions office was simply in a good mood when reading your application.
3) Downplaying your success
After achieving a certain status, you describe your success as inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Ex: After achieving a new promotion, you have a hard time accepting compliments from others. The voice in your head constantly reiterates "They'll eventually realize it's not true and that I'm an outsider"
You reply with phrases like "I'm not smart, I just work really hard!" or "Someone helped me, I had connections!" By putting yourself down, you believe someone else's inevitable critiques of you, will make less of an impact on your self-esteem.
4) Overworking yourself
You are a perfectionist who is never satisfied with their finished outcome, because you fixate very heavily on the flaws. Since your self-worth is tied to your productivity, you experience constant anxiety surrounding your work ethic in comparison to others and these feelings of inadequacy push you to work as hard as possible.
Ex: Since the STEM field is constantly evolving, you believe you will never know enough information in order to finish a project. Since it’s impossible to stay up to date, you feel your work to be intellectually inferior
Next Steps: Take Back Control
After recognising imposter feelings when they emerge, use the following strategies to redirect these thoughts into a positive, more productive mindset.
1) Reframe Failure
The learning process is often regarded as filling up blank pages in a book with new information. In reality, your brain must first take in information, then reconstruct it in a way that fits with your previous knowledge and prejudices. Failure is necessary for your mind to reconstruct a more detailed image of what you're learning. If you have trouble understanding organic chemistry, it does not mean you have conned your way into the class! The time you spend doubting your abilities could be redirected into reviewing concepts with a tutor or reaching out for other resources, such as Studentosity’s article on study tips! https://studentosity.wixsite.com/mysite/post/studying-tips
2) Consider the context
Particularly in STEM, an environment of inquisitiveness and curiosity is embraced in order to further research. This can be a stark transition from a high school environment where there always lies a "right answer." If you are wrong about a hypothesis or idea, it does not mean you don't deserve the position you are in. Instead of believing you are a "useless person", remind yourself that “the fact that I feel useless right now does not mean that I really am. I'm entitled to make mistakes as I'm getting adjusted to my new environment." By doubting your abilities, you are preventing your growth in a field that thrives on an individual's courage to explore new ideas. Every scientific breakthrough has stemmed from an individual's will to push past "safe" research, so it's important to make your contribution heard.
3) Stay true to yourself, especially on social media
Oftentimes, comparing yourself to others on social media will lead to feelings of incompetence, motivating you to elevate your own social media account to match with others. If you attempt to portray an image on social media that doesn't match your true abilities or that is simply impossible for you to achieve, it will only fuel your fear of being exposed as unqualified. In the virtual and real world, use those around you as motivation, instead of competition. During conversations, genuinely listen to what others have to say as this will help you to further your own knowledge repertoire. Furthermore, you will become more authentically knowledgeable in future social interactions.
4) Recognize your expertise
Write down a realistic assessment of your abilities and past experiences, owning up to your true capabilities. Afterwards, discuss these accomplishments out loud with someone you trust. Does it make sense that you are an imposter after running through this list? This will help you to realize in what areas you are underestimating yourself and to discover your legitimate areas of improvement. Furthermore, helping other students such as partaking in tutoring, can help you realize how far you've come and how much knowledge you have accumulated.
Concluding Thoughts
In the end, you must remember that people who don't feel like imposters are no more intelligent than people who do. They are simply thinking different thoughts. How unfair is it, that you are chalking up all of your past accomplishments to luck? Changing your mindset will allow you to partake as a lifelong student, open to discovering new ideas in the world of STEM. Take today as your opportunity to start embracing your intellectual competences!
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