this time, they will finally realize i'm a fraud.
@theEugeneRomero
Get the slides: https://damn.engineer/slides
WHO AM I?
Not a psychologist
16+ years in the IT world
An impostor waiting to be inevitably caught
let's talk about a book.
@theEugeneRomero
Get the slides: https://damn.engineer/slides
Published in 1939
Considered one of the Great American Novels
Won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize
John Steinbeck
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature
Wrote two books in parallel
Living record of the creative journey for The Grapes of Wrath
Surprisingly relatable
Vowed to write on it every day
"I only hope it is some good. I have very grave doubts sometimes."
“Problems pile up so that this book moves like a tide pool snail with a shell and barnacles on its back.”
“I am so lazy and the thing ahead is so very difficult.”
"My many weaknesses are beginning to show their heads. I simply must get this thing out of my system. I’m not a writer. I’ve been fooling myself and other people. I wish I were. This success will ruin me as sure as hell. It probably won’t last [...]"
- John Steinbeck
welcome to the wonderful world of impostor syndrome.
let's talk about two psychologists.
@theEugeneRomero
Get the slides: https://damn.engineer/slides
Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes
Struggled with feelings of self-doubt
Published "The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention" in 1978
Started discussing and comparing notes in the early 70s
Interviewed 150 high-achieving women
Attributed success to luck or to others overestimating them
Consistently played down and minimized their accomplishments
Success did not break the cycle
"Up to 82% of people experience Impostor Syndrome at some point in their life."
- Bratava et al, 2020
Do you ever feel like this?
How about this?
Does this seem relatable?
let's talk about causes.
@theEugeneRomero
Get the slides: https://damn.engineer/slides
Others had been identified as “superior in intellect, personality, appearance or talent”
family upbringing
Clance and Imes’s paper identified two family patterns:
Some had a sibling who had been identified as “the smart one”
Are my parents right, or is the world right?
belonging to a minority
Real or perceived
Gender, ethnicity, education level, social class...
being overly self-critical
Deciding a positive outcome was caused by either overworking or luck
Discounting any positive feedback
product of environment
Fast-changing industry with lots of new things, all the time
Always a new, hot thing to be an "expert" on
let's talk about how to beat it.
@theEugeneRomero
Get the slides: https://damn.engineer/slides
edit your story
Tell yourself that it is normal to find difficult situations tough
Remind yourself of your own personal experiences: new, difficult things get easier with time and practice
we see the world from the inside out
Easy to see others as confident and successful while being overly aware of own deficiencies
Remember that you are only aware of your feelings and not of those around you
aim for good enough
Perfection is impossible
Perfectionism leads to depression
Do the best you can with the gifts you have
document strengths and weaknesses
Keep a file with columns for Strengths and Areas of Improvement
Add to the file after every project you work on
Review it regularly and use it for reassurance and improvement
feelings don't equal facts
“the exaggerated esteem in which my life work is held makes me very ill at ease. I feel compelled to think of myself as an involuntary swindler”
- Albert Einstein
Just because you feel as an impostor does not mean you are one
talk about it!
We tend to see others as knowledgeable and reassured
Don't be scared to ask others and learn how they manage Impostor Syndrome
It's ok to ask questions, no one knows everything!
let's just talk.
@theEugeneRomero
Get the slides: https://damn.engineer/slides
what situations or circumstances make you feeL impostor syndrome?
"I’m not a writer. I’ve been fooling myself and other people. I wish I were. This success will ruin me as sure as hell. It probably won’t last,
and that will be all right. I’ll try to go on with work now. Just a stint every day does it."
- John Steinbeck
think small
you too can beat
impostor syndrome!
Get in touch!
https://damn.engineer/
references
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/13/the-dubious-rise-of-impostor-syndrome
https://michaeldrayton.substack.com/p/why-impostor-syndrome-doesnt-exist
https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/959656202/5-steps-to-shake-the-feeling-that-youre-an-impostor
https://www.coachbarrow.com/post/on-brain-pickings-steinbeck-and-self-doubt