🧠 Feel Like a Fraud? Here’s a Quick Science-Based Fix for Imposter Syndrome

A QUICK TIP TO STRENGTHEN YOUR SELF-BELIEF

When you’re worried or overthinking, ask:

“What do I know to be true right now?”

🧠 Why it works: Recollecting one solid fact reactivates logic and quiets emotional overdrive.

👉 Try it: When your mind feels loud and unsteady.

🔍 DEEP DIVE

🧠 Feel Like a Fraud? Here’s the Science-Based Fix for Imposter Syndrome

You’re experienced. You’ve earned your role.

But sometimes, you still experience a quiet doubt.

You second-guess what you say, replay meetings in your head and downplay your wins.

This is imposter syndrome.

And it’s more common at the top than most people realise, especially for high-achieving women.

The more visible you become, the more your inner critic speaks up.

But here’s the thing:

Imposter syndrome isn’t a sign you’re not ready. It’s a sign you’re growing.

And there’s a science-backed way to shift it — without fake affirmations or waiting to “feel” confident first.

What Imposter Syndrome Really Is

Imposter syndrome isn’t about incompetence.

It’s about a mismatch between your external success and your perception of yourself.

From a neuroscience and Positive Psychology perspective, it’s your brain flagging a gap:

“I’m in a role I’ve earned… but it doesn’t quite feel like me yet.”

This cognitive dissonance (the discomfort of a mismatch between how things are and how they feel) triggers self-doubt.

You dismiss achievements, downplay positive feedback and over-focus on flaws — all attempts by your brain to resolve the mismatch.

But the real solution isn’t to shrink.

It’s to update your identity to match your impact.

Why It Persists at Senior Levels

Imposter syndrome doesn’t disappear with experience.

It often increases as you grow because the stakes get higher, your visibility increases and feedback decreases.

There’s also more ambiguity and less external validation.

And for many women leaders:

• You’re carrying the weight of representation

• You’re under pressure to prove yourself

• We mistake ease for ability, and assume discomfort means we’re not ready.

So, when a challenge feels hard, you question whether you belong, instead of recognising that hard is part of growth.

💡 Insight: You’ve levelled up externally. Now your internal identity needs to catch up.

3 Steps to Rewire Imposter Syndrome

You don’t need to banish imposter thoughts.

You need to shift your relationship with them and lead from grounded authority.

Here’s how:

🔹 1. Name It Without Letting It Lead

Feeling like a fraud doesn’t mean you are one. It means you’re stretching.

This is especially common during transitions: new roles, bigger stages, more visibility.

💡 Action: When it shows up, say: “Ah, this is a sign I’m growing.”

Label it as a growth cue, not a warning sign.

And change your language.

• Stop saying, “I am an imposter.”

• Start saying, “I’m having imposter thoughts.”

This small shift gives you space to respond, not just react.

🔹 2. Re-anchor in Evidence

Your brain has a negativity bias.

It filters out positive feedback and amplifies self-doubt.

To shift this, you need to train it to notice your capability.

💡 Action: Start a “Leadership Evidence Log.”

At the end of each week, jot down:

• One decision you made with clarity

• One moment, you handled a challenge

• One positive outcome or piece of positive feedback

You’re not inflating your ego. You’re updating your neural patterns.

Your brain won’t catch up until you give it the facts.

🔹 3. Lead With Your Voice, Not Your Doubt

Imposter syndrome grows when you speak from your doubt instead of your authority.

But confidence isn’t something you wait to feel, it’s something you practise.

💡 Tip: Before a high-stakes conversation, ask:

• “How would I speak if I fully believed I belong here?”

Then try it — in your posture, your tone, your words.

When you speak as though you already belong, you begin to feel like a leader.

Final Thoughts

Imposter syndrome isn’t a flaw.

It’s a signal that you’ve outgrown an old identity and haven’t yet updated your internal story.

You don’t need to fix yourself. You need to align your perception with your progress.

💡 Action: This week, when imposter thoughts show up, try this reframe:

• “I’m not faking it, I’m growing.”

Lead from the version of you that already belongs — and let your brain catch up.