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Mirror Mirror on the Wall
A glimpse at “imposter phenomenon” (and what you can do to overcome it)
What do you see in this picture?
Is it a lion?
Is it a cat?
Or is it a lion who sees himself like a cat in the mirror?
I feel like that lion sometimes. Yes, I’m a second-year PhD student, I am financially independent, I have an amazing partner, I just passed one of the biggest hurdles in the PhD journey — the dreaded “qualifying examination”. On the surface, it feels like I have everything figured out. But like that lion who sees himself like a cat — there are times when I don’t feel so confident about myself. I feel like an imposter.
How often do you relate to these sentences — be it in your school, workplace or even in your family?
“Everyone here is smarter than me”
“I don’t belong here”
“I don’t think I deserve that achievement or title”
This state of not feeling like you’re enough is called imposter syndrome/ phenomenon/experience but the words “Imposter syndrome” seems to be quite common. Interestingly 70% of people feel this way at one time or another according to a journal article -even very accomplished people like Maya Angelou.
