October 13, 202411 min de lectura

🧪 What does science say about Imposter Syndrome? 6 tips to overcome it · The Bunker #104

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The imposter syndrome is something that has been on my mind for a long time, and it has held me back from achieving my goals.

To my surprise, I found out that this wasn’t something that only happened to me: I asked four successful people about it, and all of them admitted to having experienced it at some point.

In today’s post, we will talk about the scientific aspect of imposter syndrome, and I’ll give you six tips on how to overcome it.

What is it?

Many define imposter syndrome as a voice that constantly nags at your subconscious, attributing all your achievements to LUCK, among other factors.

It’s called "imposter" because you feel like you're FRAUDING people.

For instance:

If you’ve bought my book, I’ve defrauded you out of €30 because I wrote it using random things I found online. It was luck that convinced you to buy it.
The design I made for a client for €2,000 only turned out well because of luck.
When I don’t achieve something: It's because I need to work harder. If what I design isn't good, it's because I lack practice.
When I do achieve something: It was luck. If it turned out well, it's because I copied a lot or got lucky. It’s never enough, what you do is never good enough.

It’s important to mention that this is something more often experienced by women, but it certainly affects men as well.

When we talk about imposter syndrome in design, I like to attribute it to the level of confidence someone has in themselves.

It’s difficult for someone with high self-esteem and confidence to experience imposter syndrome.

What I find most interesting is that so many people suffer from this, which made me think that there has to be a scientific solution behind it. Why is it so easy for someone to fall into this mindset? And what are the scientific solutions?

So after doing some research and asking several successful people, I’ve come up with these six tips to help you overcome imposter syndrome.

This can really work in any niche, but we will focus on design.

Solutions

First of all: It’s important to understand that this stems from many factors:

Most often, they come from the professional sector, but it’s also common to see it in social or family factors.

For example, those of us born in Spain know that since childhood, we’re told:

If you want something in life, you have to work hard for it.
If you don’t work, the person next to you will overtake you.
Money is super important.
Your grandfather worked hard so that now you wouldn’t be enough.

Or, for example, our Latin American friends often grow up thinking they are inferior to Europeans or to Spanish speakers in Europe… they grow up with this sense of inferiority from childhood. And I know this firsthand from speaking to many Latin friends.

So, it’s something more complex than just feeling like an imposter because of your job. It’s possibly linked to more social issues or how you were raised at home.

For example: If your parents gave you a sibling and spent their whole life comparing you to them, this could obviously affect your development, and as an adult, you might tend to always compare yourself to others.

1. Know that others experience it too

I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s really helpful to know that many more people experience this: I think isolating ourselves and thinking it’s something that only happens to us makes us feel worse. In fact, there’s a report that says over 50% of people in programming suffer from imposter syndrome. That means almost 1 in 2 people deal with this.

And this doesn’t surprise me because, from a scientific point of view, we are people who are influenced by others.

We make decisions based on the influence of others.

And if you have any knowledge of UX, you know that social elements are often used to aid decision-making, like when buying products.

It’s easier to buy a product knowing that 2 million people have bought it before you than if you’re the first buyer.
So, it’s easier to feel at ease and think this is something everyone goes through, and you understand it’s part of the process, rather than feeling bad thinking you’re the only one.

2. Now that we’ve talked about others, let’s talk about comparisons

I know it’s easier said than done, but comparing yourself to others is one of the most harmful things we can do, and it greatly feeds imposter syndrome.

However, it’s extremely important to focus on comparing yourself to your own progress.

Comparing yourself to yourself instead of others is important for several reasons:

Focus on personal growth: By comparing yourself to yourself, you focus on your own development and improvement, allowing you to recognize your progress more objectively.
Reduction of external pressure: You avoid unnecessary pressure that comes from trying to achieve the accomplishments of others, who may have very different circumstances and experiences from yours.
Greater intrinsic motivation: You become motivated by your own goals and progress rather than by external factors that may be unrealistic or irrelevant to your situation.

This approach positively impacts imposter syndrome in the following ways:

Recognition of achievements: By comparing yourself to yourself, it’s easier to see and value your own progress, helping to combat the feeling of not being "good enough."
Reduction of excessive self-criticism: You avoid falling into the trap of thinking everyone else is better than you, a common thought in imposter syndrome.
Strengthening self-confidence: By focusing on your own growth, you build a more solid foundation of confidence in your abilities and achievements.

It’s important to note that imposter syndrome is often fueled by unrealistic comparisons with others. By shifting your focus to your own progress, you take an important step towards leaving comparisons with others behind and can truly focus on assessing your own growth.

This is clearly seen in the gym: I often find myself lifting weights while looking at someone else, thinking, "I’m not lifting anything."

When what I should do is close my eyes and think: "I’m lifting twice as much as I was a month ago; I should focus on that."

3. Perfectionism

It’s well known that one of the main reasons imposter syndrome arises is being too hard on ourselves.

Honestly, I used to think that being a perfectionist was a good thing. However, now I see that there’s a difference between paying attention to detail and being generally meticulous, and being a perfectionist. Now, for me, being a perfectionist even has negative connotations.

I prefer to be someone capable of completing many impactful tasks, rather than someone who only completes half because I want to do them all perfectly.

I’ve realized that perfectionism is a problem because:

It leads to procrastination: We postpone tasks out of fear of not doing them perfectly. We even BLOW UP tasks that initially didn’t need to be so big.
Excessive self-criticism: We are never satisfied with our work, no matter its quality, which makes us feel bad all the time.
Fear of failure: We avoid new challenges out of fear of not meeting unrealistic standards. Sometimes it’s important to do things and take risks. That’s why they say perfectionism kills dreams because sometimes we don’t even want to try unless it’s perfect.

For me, it was crucial to my professional performance to understand that, in many cases, a "good enough" job is more valuable than a "perfect" one that never gets completed.

To combat this counterproductive perfectionism, we can:

Set realistic expectations: Recognize that perfection is unattainable and that progress is more important.
Practice self-compassion: Be kind to ourselves when we make mistakes.
Celebrate small achievements: Acknowledge and appreciate each step toward our goals.

4. Keep a written record of your achievements

Something that helps me is writing down my achievements and goals because when I achieve them, it’s easier for me to recognize that I’ve succeeded.

Something important for me was also to try changing the type of goals I set. Instead of recording: Reach 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, I wrote: Be able to record two videos a week. I prefer defining goals based on habits rather than metrics or numbers.

Of course, reaching 100,000 subscribers is a goal, but to focus more on the process, I like defining process-based goals rather than numerical ones.

An effective strategy to combat imposter syndrome is to keep a written record of your achievements and goals. This method helps you recognize and appreciate your progress tangibly.

To maximize the effectiveness of this technique, it’s recommended to focus on habit- and process-based goals rather than numerical targets.

For example, instead of "Reach 100,000 subscribers on YouTube," you could set the goal of "Record and publish two quality videos per week."

This approach has several advantages:

It focuses on actions you can directly control.
It encourages consistency and the development of positive habits.
It reduces anxiety associated with numerical goals that may seem unattainable.
It allows you to celebrate achievements more frequently, reinforcing your confidence.

5. Listen to others

Something that helps me a lot is sharing my achievements with others because this helps me to:

By externalizing them, it makes them official. Externalizing can be as simple as writing a tweet or telling a colleague at lunch.
If I share my progress with loved ones or people I care about, they will give me feedback, and that feedback is often a reflection of reality.

For example: This year, I created a product called Koala UI.

On Wednesday, I went to dinner with a friend who works in the design industry, and I told him I had created a product with all the designs someone might need. After showing him, his immediate reaction was: "Wow, that’s amazing!"

Honestly, the immediate reaction helped me feel more secure and convinced me that what I was doing was good.

If I hadn't shared it, I would have gone back home thinking: "Yes, I’ve done something, but it’s not that great."

So, it’s important to share your progress with others to receive positive feedback and affirmation from external sources.

6. Always remember to celebrate your success

If we never take a moment to enjoy our success, it’s much easier to suffer from imposter syndrome.

It’s essential to:

Acknowledge your hard work.
Take time to celebrate, even in small ways.
Let your brain register the positive outcomes of your efforts.

Celebrating achievements reinforces positive feelings and helps diminish self-doubt.

Final note:

Imposter syndrome isn’t something we should be afraid of; it’s something we can learn to manage.

By understanding that many people experience it, avoiding comparisons with others, and acknowledging our achievements, we can significantly reduce its impact on our professional and personal lives.

We must remind ourselves that it’s okay to not always feel confident and that confidence can be built gradually by focusing on our growth and successes, however small they may be.

Until next time,

Jordi Espinosa.

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