Impostor syndrome or society?

Recently I read an article on this concept known as impostor syndrome. Basically it is when we don’t feel qualified to do the job we have been trained to do.

For example, even if we are a practicing doctor, or teacher, or hairdresser, for example, or whatever occupation we find ourself to be in, essentially we don’t feel competent enough.

I feel that this is connected to our societal ideas around being qualified enough for a specific role. We live in a world in which it is very common to do one qualification, followed by the next, and the next, and so on and so forth.

And the question to really ask ourselves is, how many qualifications and titles will it take, to actually feel competent to do our jobs?

One of the deeper layers beneath this, lies in our feelings of confidence in simply being who we are in the world.

Perhaps the notion of impostor syndrome really comes about from trying to be who we think someone in our profession should be. I remember when I was training in General Practice, I constantly felt this. And on reflection it wasn’t so much about not having the credentials or knowledge, as I saw my colleagues who thrived in the role working hard to look up the things that they did not know, but the feeling of having to be someone who I wasn’t.

I felt that a doctor who believed in anything spiritual or any deeper meaning to physical illness, such as its connection to one’s mental and emotional state and social circumstances, was somehow not the definition of what a doctor was really meant to be.

This resulted in feeling the so called Impostor syndrome, as I felt like I was acting to play the part of what I believed a socially acceptable doctor looked like.

And the even deeper layer to this, is the difficulty we can find as human beings, to actually just be our selves. We are so conditioned to want to fit in, to be seen as part of the group, mainstream, like every body else, that we often find ourselves acting more like chameleons, subtly changing the face we show to who we are with, depending on who we are with.

What if instead we could develop the deeper confidence in that who we are, for simply being ourself, is enough?

What if instead of always trying to please everyone and taking over responsibility for the reactions and feelings of others, we spoke our truth with kindness and authenticity?

Perhaps then by cultivating a society in which it was more socially acceptable to be unique, different, and express our true voice with those around us, we would be less concerned with moulding ourselves to meet a fictional version of who we believed we should be, and could simply be ourselves?

Then perhaps we would be less likely to feel this impostor syndrome, realising that our only job was to connect more deeply with our true self, and then to share this with a freedom and confidence with the world around us.