“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt’’ – Sylvia Plath

Imposter Syndrome (IS) is a behavioural health phenomenon described as self-doubt of intellect, skills or accomplishments among high-achieving individuals. It is a common concept especially in the present cutthroat world, to constantly second guess every decision you make leading to a zero level of self-confidence. We are living in a stiflingly negative environment with pessimism running rampant. Even if you were to try to be optimistic, we are forced to crumble under the assault of negativity of those around us. The world is such that, any who dares to forge a path of their own away from the well-troddenroad is made a fool of and an example to others. 

The individual suffering from IS could be a high performing person in an external objective manner, but internally they are rarely ready to acknowledge that success. This condition often results in people feeling like a ‘fraud’ or ‘phony’ and doubting their abilities. While it can occur across any age group, gender, profession or racial demographic, individuals from minority groups may be more likely to experience it due to racism, social stigmas and micro aggressions. It can also affect those living in high-pressure, high-stakes settings such as health care professionals and the civil workforce. 

How this can be overcome is to first willingly accept that

you are suffering from it and require help. No progress can be made with an individual who refuses to accept their condition. Once they accept that they are suffering from this, they need to be given support and shown that they are not alone. Depending on the individual they can go for either individual or group therapy and learn to accept all aspects of themselves slowly but surely and embrace self-love

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What me must remember is that there are moments in all our lives when we feel inadequate and useless. I believe this mainly stems from an unhealthy habit of constantly comparing ourselves to those around us. We must understand that each of us are running in our own tracks, and it is unwise to focus on other paths. Each person takes life at their own pace, in their own time. A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just blooms. In a similar manner, we must all grow at our own pace and life will turn out to be beautiful. And along the way, we must keep in mind; the most important thing we can make is a mistake because lets face it,being perfect never taught anybody anything!

As Coco Chanel says, Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.

Written by: Rtr. Aaysha Sufran

Graphic design by: Rtr. Sathmi Dinanja