IMPOSTER SYNDROME

Hi! It’s Sike 👋

How have you been? Good, I hope!

It's so good to finally write to you again! I hope that you were looking forward to my writing 😊

Now that I’m here, I’ll start off by asking some questions.

Have you ever felt like you were incompetent in a role or task that people thought you were good at?

Or have you felt like you were “not good enough”, doubted yourself, or even felt like a fraud that would soon “cast”?

Well, I want you to know that the feeling is not peculiar to you.

Even the people you admire and desire to be like probably feel this way too or have felt this way at some point in their lives.

The feeling is termed “Imposter Syndrome” and we may experience it in several areas of our lives such as work, school, or even our faith walk.

I for one, have experienced imposter syndrome as I usually feel less than enough sometimes.

I shy away from talking to people in public spaces because of the fear of looking stupid or unintelligent.

Even at work, I never stop comparing myself to other people just so I can say “See, I told you this person is better than me”.

If you are like me, then this post is definitely for you.

The good question to ask at this point is, why do I have Imposter Syndrome?

Whilst there is no single answer to this question, in this post, I will highlight two reasons we may experience it.

1. Childhood Experiences or Memories.

Childhood experiences such as parents comparing their children to other children or even to each other, or parents dissatisfied with a particular grade even if it’s a good grade so, rather than applaud the child and encourage him or her to do better, they air their dissatisfaction.

Whilst it is really necessary for parents to push their children to be the very best they can be, it is also important for them to know how best to approach it to avoid the child feeling less than they are or than their sibling(s) or peers.

The thought that a child needs to achieve a lot to be loved or lovable by their family can be quite damaging and may leave them feeling like an imposter.

2. Personality Traits.

If you are a perfectionist or a neurotic, you may likely experience imposter syndrome.

This is because you are always careful to not make mistakes or you have a high level of insecurity or anxiety and if eventually, mistakes happen, you begin to doubt yourself and you feel like you don’t deserve anything good.

As I stated earlier, this is a highlight of two reasons someone may experience imposter syndrome as there are several other factors or reasons.

The deal with imposter syndrome is that it is not enough to just know about it, we must also know how we can handle it as believers.

1. The first thing is to know that you are not the only one that feels like an imposter.

Some researchers estimated that about 70% of the world population experience imposter syndrome so, do away with every thought that makes you feel like you are the only one on Earth that feels this way.

2. Another thing you should do is to talk to someone.

As Christians, we have been called into the family of Christ with brothers and sisters. We are not alone and we should always have at least one person we can always talk to about how we feel.

The person should be someone who believes in God’s gift or call upon our life and can encourage us whenever we feel like imposters.

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another — Proverbs 27 vs 17 NIV

3. You must be confident in God’s ability in you.

If you see what you do as a gift from God or that God has enabled you and blessed you with all that you need, e.g. opportunities, and resources, to hone your skill, then, you will realize that it’s not about you and mostly about the skill and the tasks you should/would do with it.

This mindset will rid you of every comparison mindset and let you see that it is God working in you.

For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure — Philippians 2 vs 13 KJV

So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy — Romans 9 vs 16

4. God wants to comfort and encourage us always and that includes when we feel like imposters. Therefore, it is important we know that our feelings are valid so, we must acknowledge them and be willing to talk to Him about them always.

Also, we must learn to give grace to ourselves and know that life is a journey that needs us to constantly seek to improve ourselves rather than compare ourselves or our work with others.

5. Finally, we must let God’s word be the lens through which we view ourselves.

As humans, we set certain standards and definitions for ourselves however, as believers we know better. God’s word should be what we constantly affirm whenever we feel like imposters because affirming God’s word is not just positive speaking rather, it brings to the forefront of our thought who we are in Christ Jesus.

Here Are Some Affirmations You Can Declare 👇

God has anointed me to do great things,

I am equipped for all God has called me to do,

I am not a failure,

I am not an imposter,

I am God’s temple and where God dwells, there is no mediocrity.

Hopefully, when next we feel like imposters, we remember that our feelings do not decide the trajectory of our lives instead, God’s word does.

All my love,

Sike Bankz 💛