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What's Behind It

The term was first introduced in 1978 by the American psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes, who originally observed the phenomenon mainly among high-achieving women in academic professions. Today, however, we know that it affects people across all kinds of careers, age groups and backgrounds. Some estimates suggest that up to 70 percent of people experience it at least once in their lives.

The core pattern is almost always the same. You get an opportunity that other people didn't get. A new job. A promotion. An invitation to something that makes you wonder why they chose you in the first place. And instead of seeing it as the result of your own work, your mind immediately starts downplaying it. They probably just didn't have anyone else. Or they made a mistake. You're not convinced that you're actually good at what you do. You're convinced that you're fooling everyone around you. And that sooner or later, they're going to figure it out.

People often don't develop impostor syndrome completely at random. In many cases, it grows out of environments where performance was constantly judged or evaluated. Some people grew up with extremely high expectations, while others learned early on that making mistakes was something negative. On top of that, social media constantly pushes us into comparison. You see other people's success all the time, but almost never their insecurity, doubts or failures.

I Know These Thoughts Too

I've been running this website since 2006. In the main articles, I write about fitness and nutrition, while here on the blog I write about all kinds of different topics, all completely free. Partly because I think nowadays people already have to pay for every little thing anyway. At the same time though, there's still a part of me wondering whether any of this would even be good enough to charge money for.

On a rational level, I know that a lot of what I publish here is higher quality than some of the things other people actually charge money for. Honestly, I've seen paid content that I'd personally be embarrassed to put behind a paywall myself. But knowing that doesn't change the feeling.

Whenever someone thanks me for helping them, I almost reflexively thank them back. As if their gratitude alone was already too much. As if I hadn't really earned it. As if I should be the grateful one simply because someone took my content seriously in the first place.

And while writing this, part of me is simultaneously wondering whether it's a bit arrogant to even describe myself as someone who experiences impostor syndrome. Which is probably exactly what this entire article is about.

How It Shows Up in Everyday Life

Just by reading this article, there's already a higher chance that you know exactly what this is about. But take a moment and think about where these thoughts show up in your own life.

Maybe deep down you know that you do a good job at work. But you still don't dare apply for a better position. Somehow, that thought always lingers in the back of your mind that you're not actually good enough and that sooner or later you'd be exposed. That other people might eventually realize you're not nearly as competent as they think you are.

You make yourself smaller than you really are because you feel like there simply isn't anything more out there for you. You keep waiting until you finally feel ready, but that moment never comes.

And when you do succeed, you quickly find an explanation for it. Maybe it was luck, the right timing, or just favorable circumstances. But when you fail, then of course it wasn't bad luck. That was you. What else could you have expected.

Why Competent People Often Doubt Themselves

People who set very high standards for themselves and spend a lot of time deeply engaging with a subject seem to be especially vulnerable to impostor syndrome.

The more you learn about a topic, the more aware you often become of how much you still don't know. And that awareness can lead you to underestimate your own abilities, even though you may actually know far more about the subject than most people around you.

Interestingly, this kind of distorted self-perception also exists in the opposite direction. It was described in 1999 by the American psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger. In their experiments, they found that people with very little knowledge in a certain area often tend to overestimate their own abilities. Not necessarily out of arrogance, but because they lack the ability to realistically recognize their own gaps in knowledge. They don’t see what they don’t see. Today, this is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Both phenomena, impostor syndrome and the Dunning-Kruger effect, describe distorted self-perception in opposite directions. One tends to lead to underestimating your own abilities, while the other tends to lead to overestimating them. But neither of them is a fixed or unchangeable trait.

What Can You Do About It?

What makes impostor syndrome so difficult is that the doubts often feel completely real, even when they don't necessarily match your actual abilities or performance. Simply understanding that can already be an important first step. But of course, a single thought alone won't make the feeling disappear.

A good place to start is being honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses. And I really mean honest in both directions. It's completely normal not to be good at everything. There are simply too many things a person could potentially learn, know, or master for anyone to excel at all of them. What matters is knowing what you are good at and knowing where you still want to improve. Everything else can stay in the background.

And even if it feels a little stupid at first, start writing things down. Grab a small notebook or open your notes app and keep track of what you actually accomplished this week. What went well? What did you learn? Impostor syndrome has a very selective memory and without evidence to the contrary, it usually wins.

But even if you do all of that, the doubt will still come back sometimes. When that happens, it helps to change perspective for a moment. What would someone else say about your work if they looked at it from the outside, without hearing the constant inner commentary that comes with it? The answer is usually very different.

And just look around for a moment. Every person has areas where they're strong and areas where they simply aren't. Someone who can fix almost anything around the house might sit completely lost in front of a tax form. Someone who speaks multiple languages and can navigate anywhere in the world might still struggle to hammer a nail straight into a wall. Nobody is good at everything, and most people are struggling with far more than they show. Even the people who always seem confident and competent.

That's exactly why it helps to talk openly about it. Impostor syndrome thrives in silence. Sometimes a single honest conversation is enough to realize that you're not the only one dealing with these thoughts. And often, it's exactly those conversations that help people see themselves a little more realistically.

And lastly, when someone tells you that you did a good job, try not to immediately search for an inner counterargument.

The same goes for criticism. Not all criticism is fair or helpful, but that also doesn't mean you have to take everything personally. Listen to what's actually behind it, take what helps you grow, and let the rest go.

Closing Words

Impostor syndrome doesn't simply disappear on its own. And the more successful you become, the more responsibility, visibility and expectations often come with it. But just because you doubt yourself doesn't mean those doubts reflect reality. There's a high chance that you judge yourself far more harshly than other people do. So from now on, try to look at your abilities and achievements a little more objectively instead of constantly making yourself smaller than you really are.