A Poem on Impostor Syndrome

It is pretty easy to soundtrack your life to the applause of others

Bouncing on Cloud 9s of praise and success

Or was it even success

Maybe merely luck

Happenstance

Best in the class they said

She works hard they said

First-class! they said

Am I an Impostor?

Am I a fraud?

I see them

They stare

And glare

And maybe I’m the last one to be aware

That I better beware

Because I don’t belong

here…

What is my value?

Will I be exposed?

What do I know?

Let’s end this story before it has really started

Before it has gone too far

Behind the make-up and the large tote bag

What makes me?!

Oh No!

Down

The

Spiral

I

Go

Someone get me a drink.

FRIENDS:

Wow

Comparison really is the thief of joy

Don’t sweat

Don’t reflect on it

You can’t know everything about any thing

Otherwise you end up knowing everything about nothing

It’s all a game

And you are over-complicating the rules

And everyone else is not even sure which game we are playing

No one

And I mean no one

Is

PERFECT

At worst

Fake it!

Till you make it

Believe in yourself

You are smart

You are strong

You are competent

And best of all you are you

And we LOVE you

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Impostor syndrome is the idea that high-achieving individuals doubt their own abilities and believe that they are frauds. i.e. not good enough to be in their current position/role. The syndrome is particularly common amongst women and ethnic minorities who may feel they were favoured by positive discrimination.

I decided to write a short poem on this after starting work and feeling pretty overwhelmed by how smart and intelligent everyone is around me. Luckily, I have a good support network around me and spoke to several of my friends who said they have felt the same at some point in the recent life.

Overall, I think it relates back to the sad phenomenon that sometimes as millennials and especially young women we base too much of our happiness and feeling of joy on how other perceive us. You shouldn’t need an award or a pat on the back to know you have done well, the appreciation has to come from within.

You need to be your own No.1 fan.