My Good Friend Imposter Syndrome

Our UX team talked about imposter syndrome the other day. The conversation followed what to me feels like a familiar pattern—everyone admitted that they struggle with imposter syndrome, and then everyone agreed that we know we shouldn't struggle with it, and then we moved on without talking about how not to struggle with it. I think we tend to avoid solutioning around imposter syndrome because it seems like a fight we can never win, or like we can only wait around and hope to grow out of it. And this makes me wonder: If imposter syndrome is so hard to overcome, what might it might look if we stopped trying to do that? How would it look to accept imposter syndrome into our lives, and even learn to enjoy it?

As I continued to think about this, I realized that imposter syndrome is kind of an inseparable part my creative process, and not even necessarily an unwelcome one. Every time I face a difficult problem, or join a new team, or prepare a presentation, I feel like an imposter. I feel terribly small relative to the scale of the problems and the unknowns surrounding them. Even tiny problems can appear so daunting in combination that I start to feel like I'm not remotely qualified to deal with them. But my process always involves chipping away at the problem slowly, and gaining control over it bit by bit. And the way it always seems to go is that the more I figure out, the less I feel like an imposter. When I look at imposter syndrome from this angle, it's almost like encountering an old friend. And it's like this game we play, me and imposter syndrome, where it shows up to intimidate me and I must conquer it all over again. We meet again, imposter syndrome.

So that's one way to actively work with imposter syndrome instead of hoping it will go away. Rather than cowering before it, acknowledge its presence and greet it as an old friend. Solving problems is fun, so treat imposter syndrome like one more problem. But I do think you need to reach a little deeper than that if you want to equip yourself to accept imposter syndrome as part of your life. You also need to buy in on some level to your ability to overcome it. You need to find a way to believe in yourself.

If you're going to welcome imposter syndrome into your life and start to enjoy the process of working with it, you need to find the light of confidence and past successes that's shining somewhere within you, even if it's just barely shining. Even as your brain is calling you an imposter and telling you that you'll never figure this one out, you need to be seeking out a wiser part of yourself that knows you can figure it out, because you've done so before. You only need to find the smallest amount of faith that you'll be able to handle it, and that faith will be enough to give you the edge. It will allow you to say, "We meet again imposter syndrome, but this time the advantage is mine."

I used to think imposter syndrome would eventually disappear. That one day I would finally be competent enough that I would never feel this way. I realize now that as long as I'm challenging myself, I'm going to feel like an imposter. The good news is that every time I overcome imposter syndrome, I become better equipped to engage with it in a healthy way the next time. Your goal should be to recognize imposter syndrome when you're merged with it, label it for what it is, believe that you'll figure it out, and embrace the process of chipping away at it. When you do this enough you'll start to see imposter syndrome as a familiar foe that has nothing to do with you or your abilities.

Eventually you might even get a little thrill when you recognize imposter syndrome, because its presence signals the beginning of the problem solving process that keeps us all going as designers. More importantly, when imposter syndrome shows up it's a sure sign that you're continuing to grow.