Step 1: How to overcome imposter syndrome

If you experience imposter syndrome, you know it can be debilitating. 

That’s why I’ve put together this blog series to help you heal longtime patterns and step into a more empowered life.

Whether you get overwhelmed by anxiety or feel like a fraud no matter how well you perform, imposter syndrome keeps you from living your life to the fullest.

I’ve had clients tell me things like “I don’t know what I’m doing” or that “I’m a bad mom”, when from the outside they seem like they’ve got their stuff together.

The thing is, when you suffer with imposter syndrome you can’t see all the amazing things you do – or that you’re capable of.

Instead, you’re really, really hard on yourself. 

It’s an awful place to be.

But, it’s also an amazing opportunity to learn how to heal yourself.

Because you can.

YOU can learn to overcome imposter syndrome.

You can feel confident and lighthearted and capable.

It does take dedication.

And trust (especially if you don’t yet believe you’re capable).

I’m going to teach you the fundamental steps in this blog series.

If you do them, consistently, and get help when you get stuck, you WILL feel better.

So, let’s get started with today’s lesson.

Step 1: Understand where your imposter syndrome comes from

Beliefs & thoughts

The imposter complex is a collection of self-limiting beliefs that you have about yourself. 

Beliefs are thoughts that you have thought over and over until they become a part of your identity.

Beliefs feel like THE TRUTH. 

However, they’re just thoughts – thoughts on repeat.

Thoughts are just words that pop up in your brain, often out of nowhere. 

Just because you think something doesn’t mean it’s true. 

In fact, many of the thoughts that your brain serves up are just reruns of past thoughts. This means that a thought like “I’m not good enough” isn’t actually a response to current circumstances, but rather a program that’s running on repeat in the background that emerges whenever it has a chance for some mental screen time. 

Your brain doesn’t realize this is self-sabotage. It thinks it’s keeping you safe and comfortable by serving up thoughts that prevent you from taking risks or expanding into your full potential. 

Your brain thinks it’s safest to stay small and quiet and at home watching tv with a box of cookies.

So, the imposter syndrome is just your brain’s misguided way of protecting you.

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Take action

Step 1 is about learning to notice your thoughts throughout the day and being open to the idea that they might not be true.

There are a few different ways this can go down:

1. Throughout the day, ask yourself “What am I thinking”. Pause and notice what comes up.
2. When you catch yourself saying mean things to yourself like “this isn’t good enough”, pause… and just repeat the thought back to yourself using the phrase “I just noticed that I said {mean words here} to myself. Interesting.”
3. At the end of the day, take a couple minutes to reflect on your day and what you were thinking.

With all of these approaches, keep in mind that negative thoughts come from negative beliefs and aren’t ABSOLUTE TRUTH.

This is good news because you’re totally capable of building new beliefs.

I’ll help you get there.

For now, work on building your awareness.

Come back to the actions for this Step 1: How to overcome imposter syndrome EVERY day.

If you miss, just come back again. No problemo.

Stay tuned for Step 2 next week.

Wishing you much awareness.

Big love,

Heidi

P.S. To get a jump start on healing imposter syndrome, sign up for my free Empowerment Session. This is a 1-1 coaching call where I help you access the power and vision to create your dreams. The time you take to invest in yourself with this one call can be a huge step forward in creating a life of freedom and success.