After we have accomplished our goals, we may not feel the happiness we had hoped for. We worked hard and did our best in our career, but it still feels like we aren’t good enough; like we are an imposter in our own life. We might feel like we do not deserve the life that we have. A relatively new phenomena floating around in mental health is “imposter syndrome”. Imposter syndrome is not actually a syndrome or an officially diagnosable disorder; it is a thought pattern in which a person constantly doubts their own accomplishments or fears that they will be exposed as a fraud. I think that many of us feel this way, maybe not to the degree that we worry someone with show up in our workplace and ask us to leave due to actual incompetence. But on a lesser scale in which we may not feel comfortable with our own success. Becoming accomplished in one’s field is not an overnight shift. It takes years to learn what works in our career and after a while we are an expert whether we realize it or not. If you have trained, studied and worked hard, you deserve to be right where you are. Here are some strategies that will give you permission to accept your success.

1. Talk about it. When we share our thoughts and feelings with others, we are often
surprised that our peers feel the same. When things are normalized, we feel better about
ourselves.
2. When are are feeling particularly insecure think about the facts. List out the steps you
took to get where you are. Think about performance evaluations, trainings, jobs that you’ve
had, etc.
3. We do not have to know everything about everything. You have a certain skills set.
Recognize your unique talents and accentuate the positive.
4. Create a new narrative. You are in charge of your own story. Instead of thinking “How
did I get here?”. Change your thinking to “I’ve worked hard to have this life. I’m right where
I need to be.”
5. Set new goals. Sign up for trainings, classes, work trips, etc. You can always learn
more and further your career.