top of page
Search
Impostor Syndrome – we’ve heard the phrase countless times, yet it remains in the back of our minds in times of success and failure alike. While you may know what it means, have you truly taken the time out of your day to figure out exactly how you can tackle it?


For those who aren’t aware of the true meaning of the phrase, Impostor Syndrome is likely something you have experienced. It’s that little voice in the back of your mind that pounces at the chance to tell you that you’re not quite good enough, that you don’t know enough or that you can’t truly be successful despite working hard towards it. It’s the internalised fear of failing and of other people ‘realising’ that you’re not fit for your position or deserving of your accomplishments.


Ultimately, this voice in your head is you, and so only you can be in a position to face it. Rather than eradicating it completely, Impostor Syndrome should be acknowledged as something we all face in our business, career and personal life, with open conversation normalising discussion around how exactly we can quiet that voice of self-doubt, and amplify our self-believing one.

Recognise the Signs; The first step to facing your Impostor Syndrome, is probably to recognise that it’s there in the first place. Surprisingly, this can be quite difficult to notice as we become accustomed it, but there are definitely ways you can go about increasing your awareness of its presence. Some clear examples of Impostor Syndrome can be identified with asking yourself simple questions like, are you making excuses for your achievements? Do you catch yourself trying to find other reasons behind your success other than your hard work and talent? Do you often think you’re not deserving or competent enough for roles that you’d otherwise apply for? From these types of questions, we can become conscious of the presence of Impostor Syndrome in our lives, and find the means to tackle it head-on.

Acknowledge Your Success; Ensuring you are actively acknowledging your success and the true reasons behind it are essential to quieting the nagging voice of Impostor Syndrome. While being conscious of your achievements is inherently a pattern of thought, writing them down can really help to visualise this thought process and contribute to that self-belief that can only propel you to further success and gratitude. So write it down – everything! Jot down those achievements and strides you’ve taken in life that you haven’t quite taken the time to internalise and commend yourself for.


An important thing to remember here, however, is to not only focus on recognising and writing down specific accomplishments, but also the process towards getting there. Achievements are not only prominent in whether you got one specific job or not, passed or failed a particular exam, or reached or fell short of a milestone you’d set for yourself. While you should applaud yourself for such achievements, try to internalise what it took to get there; hard work, upskilling, learning, becoming more organised etc. These are all things to include along with your list of achievements and are, essentially, achievements in themselves. By ensuring that you're focusing on how you have developed as an individual as a result of accomplishments or in the journey towards them, you can ensure you maintain a self-growth focused mindset. Moreover, you can avoid encouraging your perception of self-worth to become reliant on things like whether you got that one job, or whether you got X amount of marks on a test. Focus on making your confident consistent – through times of achievement and failure alike.

Say YES; to new opportunities! Stop feeding into the mindset of rejecting an opportunity that fits your personal criteria, that you would love to do and would be valuable to your own growth simply because you don’t feel you meet 100% of the job description. The fact is, the majority of people applying to jobs likely won’t fit each and every specified preference, or be an expert at every single part of the role description. So, while you are sat there accepting the voice of Impostor Syndrome and forgetting to acknowledge your ability to adapt, others are sat at their desks, typing away and submitting applications to their dream roles, while you may well be just as or more qualified.


Making a habit of applying to opportunities and roles like these will ensure you are committed to that self-growth and self-belief mindset we talked about. More importantly, it ensures you are not missing out on what could be opportunities of a lifetime simply because you gave into that persistently pessimistic voice that wrongly convinced you that you’re not good enough.

 

Spending so much time with our own thoughts, particularly with the current situation, it is all the more vital for us to be mindful of the way we treat ourselves in times of stress, success and hardship. By using the tips and tricks we’ve put together, you can progress your journey towards turning your back on Impostor Syndrome, and turning towards a landscape of opportunities and career progression waiting for you!


Once you’ve implemented the tips from us above, head over to Spotify, Apple, or Google Podcasts to tune in to some ‘Start Up. Start Now.’ Podcast episodes bringing you motivation from British entrepreneurs. Our personal recommendation to help tackle your impostor syndrome and find some much needed inspiration is episode 9 with Dr Heather Melville OBE!

 

Join the conversation using #startupstartnow and tagging us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.


Don't forget to leave a review as it really helps reach those who need it and allows us to get the best guests for you!



63 views0 comments
Writer's pictureAnita Gill

Updated: Feb 10, 2021

It seems that podcasts are the hot topic of today’s youth and older generation alike - but is it just another fad that will fade into a distant memory with time? Or could plugging in to a podcast really be worth it?

With the rapid rise of podcasting, there is a treasure trove of meaningful content waiting to be explored – and just a few clicks away on Apple Podcasts and Spotify! So why aren’t we all rushing to discover it? Many claim not to be ‘podcast people’ and, as someone who also used to attest to this, I can now see for myself and tell you exactly why the world of podcasts is simply too valuable to us to ignore based on this simple statement.

The first and probably most tempting of benefits is that of entertainment. For those of you who swear that you would find no joy in listening to someone else talk for 30+ mins – what are you doing when watching your favourite Netflix shows? Is it not essentially the same thing? The only difference being that podcasts are the entertainment of the real world and you might be forgetting just how many various different topics fall under that category, as I imagine the exact number would be pretty steep. From politics to comedy and from business to health, the world of podcasts is far too vast in content to be idly written off without giving it a true chance.

This second benefit is for all of our fellow entrepreneurs out there. If you’re business-minded, ambitious and love shooting for the stars then you really ought to be investing in yourself at every given chance. But I get it, truly investing in yourself can be quite the tedious task. Busy-bees like us here at SUSN seldom have the opportunity to put aside time regularly in the day to, let’s say, read a book to enrich our knowledge. Don’t get us wrong – reading is amazing and when we do get the opportunity to sit down with a good book, it can be such a blissful experience! But… how often does that realistically happen? We’re constantly telling ourselves that we’ll find the time but it always seems to get lost in the whirlwind of other tasks clouding our mind. Enter podcasts…


When looking to self-invest, podcasts don’t ask to steal that precious time out of your day. In fact, they can become an integrated part of your routine as soon as you open up Spotify and click the play button. Whether you’re running errands, cooking or travelling, you can simply pop on a podcast whilst you go about your day. So, you’ll be absorbing all of that information and listening in on some valuable content without even having to tear yourself away from your to-do list! It’s so easy… almost too easy! So why wouldn’t we take advantage? The prize is a better you!

In the acceleration of the digital world, it can become far too easy to become swallowed up whole by social media and forget to take some time for yourself. The great thing about podcasts is, despite being on your device, you can simply press play and say goodbye to your screen whilst you listen. Scrolling through social media can very quickly turn harmful and, unfortunately, it’s difficult to remember when to stop and reconnect with yourself. Again, don’t get us wrong – social media is great and an influential platform to showcase yourself, your brand or your interests! But we simply can’t deny the impact it can have on us when overused. When you listen to that podcast episode, you won’t be scrolling relentlessly through an illusion of reality, but listening to real people discussing real things. There’s even a plethora of podcasts out there specifically tailored to discussing mental health and how to improve it! So, the next time that you plug in to a podcast, be sure that phone screen is facing downwards to truly reap the benefits that podcasts can bring.

 

It’s safe to say that podcasts are worth everyone’s time. Particularly for those of you who are looking to relax, reconnect or re-invest in yourself! I would hope that this would apply to essentially everyone, but, with the landscape of podcast episodes available to us, it may be hard for you to know just where to start. ‘Start Up. Start Now. Podcast’ is here to bring you the journeys of the success and obstacles behind influential UK entrepreneurs; if you want to get the real-life stories of people who have propelled themselves to success, we’d recommend catching up and keeping an eye out for new episodes!


 

Join the conversation using #startupstartnow and tagging us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.


Don't forget to leave a review as it really helps reach those who need it and allows us to get the best guests for you!

139 views0 comments
bottom of page