#imposter syndrome

Me: ah yes, I suffer from imposter syndrome. I feel as if I haven’t earned my place in academia, and that I’m just pretending to be smart…even though I get good grades and my supervisors have great things to say about my work. This is a result of imposter syndrome.

The tiny Ben Shapiro that lives in my brain: Ok, but let’s say hypothetically

“I have imposter syndrome!!” some of you don’t :/

This just in: Starline made Sonic Origins

my insecurities are here
and they love to tell me lies
sneaking in to all my thoughts
and shining through my eyes

my insecurities are insincere
when they tell me lies
they try to say i’ve lost my way
or that i’ve missed a sign

my insecurities are fear
and they live on telling lies
so if i feed them truth and proof,
surely then, they’ll die?

Good beta readers are a life saver and you cannot convince me otherwise

Hi All,

Apologies to those of you waiting anxiously in finals season for more article reviews, but I’ve been completely swamped these last few weeks finishing papers for my last semester PhD coursework (whoo SFL examinations of Trump White House emails) and taking my girlfriend to meet my grandmother in Italy. Now that summer has started, I have time to dig in to some articles- expect lots of narrative and social media discourse studies in the next few weeks! For those of you battling Imposter Syndrome in your programs, take heart from this sad tale of the Linguist Linguine- I found out a few weeks ago that I didn’t pass my second qualifying review paper, receiving instead a recommendation to submit a different paper that was better organized and/or publishable. While this would be terrifying news to any grad student, the reviewer said to treat this like a detour, not a roadblock, so I’m pedal-to-the-medal determined this summer to learn how to write journal articles in linguistics (and hopefully pass my next submission). Hopefully I’ll be able to let you all know what I learn as I deliver you more article reviews, but in the meantime here’s an interesting article about parents teaching their babies sign language as a fadand an accompanying recipe comparison. Enjoy, and good cooking friends!

LL Recipe Comparison

This article reminds me of the recipe for Linguine with Baby Heirloom Tomatoes and Anchovy Breadcrumbs:

Much as this article raises important points about the ability of language to include and exclude, this recipe includes just the right amount of savory ingredients to guarantee that no one will exclude this dish from their favorites! While learning ASL may be a fad to some people, I guarantee you will take it seriously after reading this article, much as you should seriously consider the benefits of anchovies in spicing up your pasta dishes. Bon Appétit!

MWV
5/23/2018

Sometimes I hear about how “all creators feel like a fraud sometimes,” and I’m like “oh, God, I never feel like a fraud. Am I truly a creator?” And then I’m like “oh. Never mind. I’m good.”

Hank Green (A Love Letter to Arnie)

Hi there everyone! I decided to come back with another article, as I have been spiralling a lot these past few days. I find with quarantine, it’s becoming more and more difficult to get out of these spirals. I thought I’d write about my experiences and what helps in case anyone else was feeling the same way.

Imposter syndrome. Many of us have heard this word before. We feel out of place where we are, like we don’t belong, or that we don’t deserve something that has come our way. I am SO guilty of feeling this way; I think about all the times I’ve told people I didn’t deserve the music award I won at the end of high school, for example. It’s especially difficult when we see everything else that other people have accomplished. When we’re stuck at home during quarantine, these feelings can hit even harder, they have for me. I’m only starting my second year of university in September, but there are SO MANY things happening that I feel like I should be involved in or helping out for. Or that I should be coming up with more ideas. This is especially true for someone who is studying social issues. I feel this way as a writer as well-that my writing isn’t deep enough, or that it doesn’t address certain issues.

I’ll tell you the spirals are difficult, especially when they hit during work and I can’t focus. I’ve found a few things have been quite helpful for this. Take a look at your surroundings and name the things you see, smell, feel. This is a technique used by some during an anxiety/panic attack, but it’s something I’ve tried with my spirals to bring me back to the present moment. Another thing that is very helpful is telling myself “you’re doing great, you still have time, opportunities are always coming your way.”

Yes, opportunities are still coming your way. They can build up your resume and give you new experiences. Stop focusing on what you did or didn’t do in the past, and quit feeling like you should know what to do in the future. This is today. And tomorrow is tomorrow. Each day there’s a new opportunity to learn and grow. Don’t waste it by worrying so much.

I’ve also found this difficult when it comes to Linkedin, and I think I may be growing a bit of an addiction to it. As someone whose future career is very much make or break with your connections, I get worried about how my profile looks. Do I have enough experience? Volunteer roles? Certifications? I somehow compare myself to my older peers with many research assistant roles. But I’m only a second year, and I know I will gain those opportunities as well in my internship program.

It’s good to step away from Linkedin sometimes. I think I’ve updated my profile five times in the last couple of days, and it just keeps making me more worried. Yes, it is nice to see all your involvement in one place, but it also just keeps you comparing to others. If you feel like you have the same problem, let’s take some time to be away from Linkedin and spend some more time appreciating each day and each opportunity.

As a final reminder: yes, you belong here! Yes you are amazing! Yes you will get your dream career one day! Never feel like you aren’t supposed to be where you are; you worked so hard to get there, and I am so proud of you.

Even after writing eleven books and winning several prestigious awards, Maya Angelou couldn’t escape the nagging doubt that she hadn’t really earned her accomplishments. 

Albert Einstein experienced something similar: he described himself as an “involuntary swindler” whose work didn’t deserve as much attention as it had received. Accomplishments at the level of Angelou’s or Einstein’s are rare, but their feeling of fraudulence is extremely common. Why can’t so many of us shake feelings that we haven’t earned our accomplishments, or that our ideas and skills aren’t worthy of others’ attention?

Psychologist Pauline Rose Clance was the first to study this unwarranted sense of insecurity. She and her patients experienced something that goes by a number of names– imposter phenomenon, imposter experience, and imposter syndrome. Together with colleague Suzanne Imes, Clance first studied imposterism in female college students and faculty. Their work established pervasive feelings of fraudulence in this group. Since that first study, the same thing has been established across gender, race, age, and a huge range of occupations, though it may be more prevalent and disproportionately affect the experiences of underrepresented or disadvantaged groups. 

To call it a syndrome is to downplay how universal it is. It’s not a disease or an abnormality, and it isn’t necessarily tied to depression, anxiety, or self-esteem. Where do these feelings of fraudulence come from? People who are highly skilled or accomplished tend to think others are just as skilled. This can spiral into feelings that they don’t deserve accolades and opportunities over other people. And as Angelou and Einstein experienced, there’s often no threshold of accomplishment that puts these feelings to rest.

The good news? Talking about imposter syndrome helps! Hearing that an advisor or mentor has experienced feelings of imposterism can help relieve those feelings. The same goes for peers. Even simply finding out there’s a term for these feelings can be an incredible relief. Once you’re aware of the phenomenon, you can combat your own imposter syndrome by collecting and revisiting positive feedback. One scientist who kept blaming herself for problems in her lab started to document the causes every time something went wrong. Eventually, she realized most of the problems came from equipment failure, and came to recognize her own competence. We may never be able to banish these feelings entirely, but we can have open conversations about academic or professional challenges. With increasing awareness of how common these experiences are, perhaps we can feel freer to be frank about our feelings and build confidence in some simple truths: you have talent, you are capable, and you belong.

Learn more about imposter syndrome by watching the TED-Ed Lesson What is imposter syndrome and how can you combat it? - Elizabeth Cox

Animation by Sharon Colman