5 Ways Feeling Like a Fraud Can Fuel Further Achievement

Many of us feel like impostors, and these feelings can actually help us be more successful

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I have a confession; a lot of the time, I feel like an impostor. What I mean by this is that I have a nagging feeling of dread telling me that at any moment, I am going to be ‘found out’ as a fake, a fraud, and as someone who has no business in the career and spaces I inhabit.

I usually keep this feeling to myself and continue to show up in the best way I can because I can name this feeling, and I know that I am far from alone in feeling this way. Commonly known as impostor syndrome or impostor phenomenon, I am talking about the limiting beliefs that disproportionately impact women and other people historically underrepresented in high-visibility and powerful positions.

I could share my professional bio here, list achievements and accolades, endorsements, and kind things folks have said about me. Still, none of it would change the fact that I frequently find myself feeling like I am waiting for the deep-dark secret of my incompetence to be discovered.

For years, I had no idea that other people felt the same way I did. Because I never talked about the feelings I was having with others, I assumed I was alone in the worry that…