The year begins with me leaving my job of 3 years as a public officer to pursue my passion – digital media.
This year, I made a career shift from working as a revenue officer in my capacity as a social scientist (Economist/Demographer) to running a company and a pretty big project in the technology space.
I did have a plan as I left my job. I am not entirely headless (I hope). The first step in pursuing my digital media dreams is through education – because I am aware of the very apparent digital divide which exists in the country where I hail from.
One thing I did not mentally prepare for was the imposter syndrome I would have to deal with in my new field and new role as a manager. So I was reading an article by Valerie Young Ed.D, and she shared some things one can do to overcome imposter syndrome.
Words below are not my own. They were written byValerie Young Ed.D. Feel free to check out her work.
Break the silence
Shame keeps a lot of people from โfessing upโ about their fraudulent feelings. Knowing thereโs a name for these feelings and that you are not alone can be tremendously freeing.
Separate feelings from fact
There are times youโll feel stupid. It happens to everyone from time to time. Realize that just because you may feel stupid, doesnโt mean you are.
Recognize when you should feel fraudulent
A sense of belonging fosters confidence. If youโre the only or one of a few people in a meeting, classroom, field, or workplace who look or sound like you or are much older or younger, then itโs only natural youโd sometimes feel like you donโt totally fit in. Plus if youโre the first woman, people of color, or person with a disability to achieve something in your world, e.g. first VP, astronaut, judge, supervisor, firefighter, honoree, etc. thereโs that added pressure to represent your entire group. Instead of taking your self-doubt as a sign of your ineptness, recognize that it might be a normal response to being on the receiving end of social stereotypes about competence and intelligence.
Accentuate the positive
The good news is being a perfectionist means you care deeply about the quality of your work. The key is to continue to strive for excellence when it matters most, but donโt persevere over routine tasks and forgive yourself when the inevitable mistake happens.
Develop a healthy response to failure and mistake making
Henry Ford once said, โFailure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.โ Instead of beating yourself up for falling short, do what players on the losing sports team do and glean the learning value from the loss and move on reminding yourself, โIโll get โem next time.โ
Right the rules. If youโve been operating under misguided rules like, โI should always know the answer,โ or โNever ask for helpโ start asserting your rights. Recognize that you have just as much right as the next person to be wrong, have an off-day, or ask for assistance.
Develop a new script
Become consciously aware of the conversation going on in your head when youโre in a situation that triggers your Impostor feelings. This is your internal script. Then instead of thinking, โWait till they find out I have no idea what Iโm doing,โ tell yourself โEveryone who starts something new feels off-base in the beginning. I may not know all the answers but Iโm smart enough to find them out.โ Instead of looking around the room and thinking, โOh my God everyone here is brilliantโฆ. and Iโm notโ go with โWow, everyone here is brilliant โ Iโm really going to learn a lot!โ
Visualize success
Do what professional athletes do. Spend time beforehand picturing yourself making a successful presentation or calmly posing your question in class. It sure beats picturing impending disaster and will help with performance-related stress.
Reward yourself
Break the cycle of continually seeking ยฐยฉ and then dismissing ยฐยฉ validation outside of yourself by learning to pat yourself on the back.
Fake it โtil you make it
Now and then we all have to fly by the seat of our pants. Instead of considering โwinging itโ as proof of your ineptness, learn to do what many high achievers do and view it as a skill. The point of the worn-out phrase, fake it til you make it, still stands: Donโt wait until you feel confident to start putting yourself out there. Courage comes from taking risks. Change your behavior first and allow your confidence to build.
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Here are my personal two recommendations:
Get into Affirmations
I am an avid believer in affirmations – I always speak goodness and meaning into my life. It reminds me of all the things and values which are important to me.
Surround yourself with a good team
Most of us crave a sense of belonging, and safety. Having a team that keeps us connected goes a long way. I am grateful to have mine.
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If you are considering a career change or have recently made a career switch and want to just chat about it, feel free to drop me an email, and we can have a good chat about it nthanda@byntha.com.
All my love,
Connect with me on social media. Let’s stay in touch.
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