At some point or another, we’ve all dealt with imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is the name given to the feeling that we are underqualified, unprepared, unworthy, undeserving, or whatever other ‘un-’ word your ego comes up with that causes you to feel like a fake imposter.
Imposter syndrome usually takes hold when we stretch our comfort zone and take on a new responsibility or a new task and feel underprepared for it.
Can I let you in on a secret though?
Imposter syndrome is just growing pains for our Ego, much like we had growing pains in our body as it stretched beyond its current state as children.
I always refer to our comfort zone as a rubber band around our past experiences. Anything within our realm of ‘norm’ gets put inside that circle, and anything new we add, that rubber band has to stretch to accommodate it. If it’s a slight variation of what we have experienced in the past, then it’s pretty easy to move through the discomfort, but the more diverse the experience is compared to our past experiences, the more that rubber band has to stretch to accommodate it. The stretching sensation is what triggers that feeling of imposter syndrome, and it’s completely normal to experience this.
When we decide to try something well outside of our comfort zone, often our Ego’s survival mechanisms will kick in, activating fears and anxieties and begin trying to talk us out of the new experience because it doesn’t have a frame of reference for it, and wants us to survive and be safe, without being able to discern modern day life or death from old conditioned fears that were necessary for previous generations where we needed to be accepted by our community (because exile was close to a death sentence if you were forced to fend for yourself and didn’t have pooled resources at your dispense).
This is exactly how self-sabotage kicks in. Often that sabotage is through creating internal narratives about an outcome of a situation, and then our coping mechanisms kick in, causing us to back out, distance ourselves, or protect our Ego in other ways.
If you want to step beyond your comfort zone and start creating new experiences, and live life in new ways, including creating happier, peaceful, or more fulfilling experiences, but have struggled to create lasting change in your life, I invite you to schedule a call with me.
I offer different spiritually based life transformation programs that will help you uncover your safety needs, and learn healthy coping mechanisms, as well as tools and resources to support you in creating those new experiences, while addressing all of the negative beliefs, healing past traumas, and clearing out those old unhelpful narratives so you can finally begin to explore what more life has in store for you.