We have arrived at the end of the month, which means it’s time for a mental health check. And this one is, I feel in my bones. We need to talk about imposter syndrome. So let’s get to it, shall we?

WHAT EVEN IS IMPOSTER SYNDROME?

1. To put it simply, imposter syndrome is the experience of feeling like a phony—you feel as though at any moment you are going to be found out as a fraud—like you don’t belong where you are, and you only got there through dumb luck. It can affect anyone no matter their social status, work background, skill level, or degree of expertise.
2. Some of the most common signifiers of imposter syndrome:
   • Inability to realistically assess your competence or skills
   • contributing your successes to others or outside factors
   • Putting yourself down for your performance
   • Overachieving 
   • Being fearful of living up to expectations
   • Self sabotage (especially when it comes to success)
   • Self doubt
   • Setting super difficult goals and being pissed at yourself for not reaching them

2. One of the biggest issues with impostor syndrome is that the experience of doing well at something does nothing to change your beliefs.
   • Think about this when it comes to your personal health journey. How many times have you absolutely crushed a lift, but you put yourself down because of how you perceive others view you?
   • Or how about the fact that you’re satisfied with your consistency and building healthier habits, but because you don’t look like that influencer on the internet, or the person next to you at the gym, you put yourself down for “not working hard enough”

HOW DO WE FLIP THE SCRIPT?

1. We’ve discussed flipping the script or the “Sausha stop sign” frequently throughout a lot of the episodes of this podcast, but it’s worth a reminder again today.
   • When you feel these thoughts or feelings creep in, here are a few things you can do
     • Literally think the opposite of the negative thing you’re telling yourself. “I can’t” becomes “I can” and so on. Even if you don’t fully believe it in that moment, if you begin putting this into practice, you’ll be very surprised at how naturally the thought process shifts to positive when those “imposter” thoughts stream into your head. Personally, it’s second nature anymore. Not 100% of the time, but a lot of the time.
     • Baby steps! Try not to  focus on doing things perfectly, alternatively, try to do things reasonably well and reward yourself for doing the thing in the first place. We talk about this a LOT! These reasonably well things are your snowflakes. You cannot make a snowman (or get to goals) without snowflakes.
     • Challenge your thoughts. Does it really make sense to diminish the things you’ve accomplished, regardless of how small you perceive them to be? Did you begin putting more weight on the barbell? That. Is. An. Accomplishment. Don’t forget that this is YOUR journey, and all these wins are yours, and yours alone.
     • Stop fighting your feelings of not belonging. I made a tiktok about this not that long ago. LEAN INTO IT. The fastest way to overcome some of these feelings is to accept that fact that you feel them. Acknowledge that you feel a certain way. When you lean into it, it can be super impactful in beginning the process of undoing some of the negative beliefs you have about yourself.
     • As difficult as it is to stop doing this, stop comparing yourself to others. I think we both still do this from time to time. And as much as it is a process to stop doing it, it’s worth it. See next topic…

YOU BELONG ANYWHERE YOU WANT TO BE.

1. I know that it’s difficult sometimes to accept the fact that you do belong in the spaces you are occupying. You belong to take space. You are deserving of doing the things that you want to do to make a positive impact on your own life. Anyone that tries to convince you of, or tell you anything other than that, probably has some issues of their own that they need to address. You are an amazing human being. You are doing the things that you feel are right for you, and not one person on the planet can take that from you, regardless of their understanding of the why or how, or lack thereof 
   • Step back and look at the bigger picture… I have to do this. I get so caught up sometimes in what I’m doing that I don’t see how far I’ve come. 

Imposter syndrome can and probably has affected us all at some point. Try not to let it overtake your life.