By Jeffrey P. McNulty – author of The Ultimate Retail Manual
Originally published on The Ultimate Retail Course and republished with permission.
Imposter Syndrome is real for all of us. It is {loosely} defined as doubting our abilities or feeling that we don’t deserve our accomplishments and achievements. In speaking with highly successful individuals (even hyper-achievers who are supremely successful) from many different industries, they were all in one way or another experiencing this phenomenon.
Many individuals compensated for their Imposter Syndrome by working tirelessly to keep themselves busy. Some people started self-sabotaging their well-earned success. Others were uncomfortable with receiving praise, compliments, or words of encouragement. I felt comfort knowing that these feelings I was experiencing were commonplace and ubiquitous. I felt like I wasn’t alone.
The five main types that can manifest as Imposter Syndrome are:
➡️The Perfectionist
➡️The Soloist
➡️The Superhero
➡️The Natural Genius
➡️The Expert
This issue usually impacts the individuals and leaders who are humble, introverted, and kind the hardest. I felt that everyone understood the same principles that I share in my book 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥: 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 & 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.
It took family, friends, colleagues, clients, and collegiate professors over a period of four years to finally convince me to share the knowledge that I gleaned from my 30-year tenure in the retailing sector with the world.
I finally had an epiphany one day where I realized that we are all beings of light that have tremendous gifts to share with others. We are ALL unique and special, and there is no one else like us on Earth.
Here are some of the symptoms I experienced with #ImposterSyndrome:
✅Doubting myself.
✅Overachieving.
✅Preparing excessively for presentations for fear of failure.
✅Perfectionism mentality.
✅Self-sabotaging my success.
✅Feeling like a fraud and unworthy of my achievements.
✅Downplaying my expertise.
✅Avoiding public speaking engagements
Here are some of the strategies I implemented to work through this issue:
♾Created axioms that became mental anchors for me. “Confidence is Built, Not Given” is one of my favorites.
♾Learned more about Imposter Syndrome to better ascertain how to address it.
♾Increased my self-awareness and discernment, which led to brilliant insights into my actual contribution to society.
♾Stop trying to be perfect at everything. I surmised that good enough is often good enough.
♾Repetition is the path to mastery. My confidence levels soared as I became more proficient in my endeavors.
♾Focused on helping others which alleviated many of my feelings of inadequacy.
♾Stopped comparing myself to others. We are all on a unique journey.
We all possess innate gifts and aptitudes that are meant to be shared. I used this issue as motivation to achieve my aspirations by ensuring my intentions are always honorable, true, altruistic, and balanced.
There are always “Silver Linings” in any situation. Ultimately, by focusing on helping others achieve their dreams, I am finding peace and happiness within.
