The system to comment on this article in this Abu Dhabi newspaper thenational.ae/business/the-life/impostor-syndrome-shows-you-care-about-your-work doesnt work so Ill comment here: You are quite right for pointing out that, if feelings of self-doubt and phoniness were all bad it seems unlikely that they would be so familiar to so many emotionally well-adapted people. On the plus side, people who feel like impostors do indeed care deeply about the quality of their work. However, that caring can come at a heavy price. Many become obsessed, sometimes to the point of paralysis with “how” something is done believing every aspect of their work must be exemplary 100 percent of the time. Anything less results in harsh inner criticism coupled with deep shame at this perceived “failure.” Precisely because there is such shame in failing, some people may avoid attempting anything new or difficult altogether. After all, getting things “right” takes a lot of effort, energy, and aggravation. It’s much easier not to even try than risk the humiliation of coming up short. Even if for the extremely motivated, success is rarely satisfying because you always believe you could have done even better. You don’t need to relinquish a quest for excellence or do things willy-nilly. But with some obvious exceptions like performing surgery or flying an airplane and the like, not everything we do deserves 100 percent. It’s a matter of being selective about where you put your efforts and not wasting time agonizing over routine tasks when an adequate effort is all that is required. Caring about one’s work also shows up in the faulty thinking that we need to know a subject backwards and forwards before speaking up in a meeting or offering an opinion for fear of being wrong. If you accept the false notion that you need to know everything there possibly is to know before we consider ourselves remotely competent, you may not even attempt things you’re perfectly capable of doing. As coaching legend John Wooden said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” There is no “end” to knowledge. When you try to know everything, especially in fast-moving and information-dense fields like technology and medicine, it’s like trying to get to the end of the internet. It’s simply not possible. The quest for ultimate knowledge is an unreachable mirage. Instead relax and just do the best you can. Besides you don’t need to know everything. You just need to be smart enough to figure out who does and take it from there.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 16:51:50 +0000
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