An Ancient Foe: Imposter Syndrome

“How did I even get into UofT?”

“I thought I was smart enough for this place but clearly not.”

Sound familiar? The statements above reflect a common train of thought for most of us. School gets tough and we take a hit, allowing our minds to wander. Feelings of inadequacy cloud our perspective and suck us into a rabbit hole of low self-worth and poor self-efficacy. Many of us are familiar with this phenomenon known as imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is defined as believing that you did not earn something; that whatever you have was just a mere stroke of luck, not merit based.(Feenstra et al., 2020). Believing that we are incapable of achievement seems to take away our sense of self-efficacy.

Imposter syndrome develops when we fail to fully acknowledge and accept our successes(cite feel like a fraud). From personal experience, it usually starts to grow when we begin measuring our successes using other people as a reference point. For example, it is possible to receive a merit-based award then believe that it was a mere stroke of luck simply because you believe someone else may have achieved better than you. While it is true that there will always be someone somewhere in the world, better than us at whatever we do; it also does not erase the fact that you would have worked for and earned whatever success you have. As cliche as it sounds, unfair comparison with other people really is the root of many problems in my opinion; including imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome must be a subject of discussion because it pollutes our self-belief. Believing that you only got success through luck is so damaging because most times we are left feeling powerless; as though our efforts are insignificant. Having chronic imposter syndrome at an institution like UofT can be potentially damaging because we may end up watching opportunities slip away while feeling inadequate to even try things. Case competitions will come and go, job opportunities will come and go, leadership positions will come and go; while imposter syndrome forces us to shy away unwilling to try anything.

Imposter syndrome is largely rooted in failing to acknowledge our capabilities. When you recognise these feelings of imposter syndrome, try doing a little travel down memory lane. It may be in the form of journaling or with a friend. Recollect some of your achievements and look back on how you got to that success. This process may help you realize just how much of an initiative you’ve taken towards achieving what you have.