Stage 1 · Lesson 3 of 6
Impostor feelings
Impostor feelings are the sense that you do not deserve your place, that your success came from luck, and that you will soon be found out. The psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes described this in 1978 among high-achieving women; since then it has been found to be common across genders and fields.
It is not a diagnosis; it is a pattern of thinking. It often shows up at transitions: a new university, first internship, first job, a promotion. First-generation students, people from smaller cities, and anyone who is the only one like them in a room often feel it strongly. The useful move is to name it: "This is the impostor feeling again."
Common trapbelieving the feeling is proof, and working yourself to exhaustion so nobody finds out.
A question to check yourself and an AI practice session come when you add the roadmap to your account. Add it
Resources for this stage
Start with· follow one of these
- VideoFreeThe Skill of Self Confidence (Dr. Ivan Joseph, TEDxRyersonU)
Dr. Ivan Joseph (TEDxRyersonU)
A coach on why confidence is a skill you build with repetition, not something you are born with
- VideoFreeThe Power of Vulnerability (Brené Brown, TEDxHouston)
Brené Brown (TEDxHouston)
Why being willing to be seen, imperfect, is at the heart of real confidence
Also worth your time
Struggling right now? If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line: Find a helpline (any country), Umang (Pakistan), Tele-MANAS, 14416 (India).