Impostor syndrome | Maria Avram | TEDxAmericanInternationalSchoolofBucharest
No speaker is immune to imposter syndrome, which is described as an internal feeling of intellectual fallowness persisting despite evidence of outstanding achievements. The speaker suggests confronting this feeling by intentionally taking risks and understanding that making mistakes is part of the process. Ultimately, the speaker asserts that success is personal and cannot be taken away, urging listeners to own their accomplishments.
## Speakers & Context
- Speaker addressing an audience at a conference, initially expressing self-doubt and anxiety about speaking.
- The speaker initially felt overwhelmed and questioned their right to be at the conference.
## Theses & Positions
- Imposter syndrome is an internal feeling of intellectual fallowness often experienced by highly achieving people.
- Success is frequently attributed incorrectly to luck, timing, or connections rather than true ability.
- The feeling of imposter syndrome causes fear of success, leading individuals to undermine their accomplishments and avoid sharing them.
- The solution to imposter syndrome is a process of learning to own success, understanding its source, and making mistakes.
- When taking risks and taking control, the feeling of being an imposter diminishes.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Imposter Syndrome:** An internal feeling of intellectual fallowness that persists despite numerous achievements.
- **Fallingowness:** The core emotion defining the condition.
- **Faking it:** The act of pretending to possess knowledge or skill that is not genuinely understood.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Causes:**
* Parental pressure: Being told they are so smart and must achieve greatly, or that failure is due to insufficient hard work.
* Educational structure: A single mistake causing a lower grade, which subsequently lowers the entire GPA, impacting future opportunities.
- **Effect of Causes:** Creates a fear of success, causing individuals to doubt their capabilities and avoid taking risks after the first mistake.
- **Solution Process:** Taking an activity never done before, even if one knows they will fail, in order to prove to oneself that one is good at something and not merely lucky.
- **Therapeutic Shift:** Moving from internal self-criticism to taking "fate into one's own hands" by taking a deliberate risk.
## Named Entities
- *Tom Hanks*, *John Green*, *Emma Watson*, *Neil Gaiman* — famous people who have reported feeling like imposters.
## Numbers & Data
- Estimated prevalence: **70%** of all people feel like imposters at some point.
## Examples & Cases
- **Speaker's personal experience:** Initially feeling unprepared, attributing success to a scholarship, and struggling to accept praise when told they were a "scholarship student."
- **Past actions:** Being pressured by parents and experiencing academic setbacks that caused a drop in GPA.
- **Improved behavior:** Actively trying to stop using the phrase "I'm just good at pretending," and focusing on acknowledging hard work.
- **Mindset shift:** Feeling less like an imposter when actively taking risks and "taking fate into my own hands."
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- Acknowledge that the advice is difficult to execute ("easier said than done").
- The speaker admits the process of overcoming imposter syndrome is ongoing.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- To combat imposter syndrome, one must intentionally subject oneself to activities where failure is expected.
- One must own their success and understand its source, refusing to attribute it only to luck or connections.
- Every moment of feeling uncertain should be countered by acknowledging the work done to reach the current position.
## Implications & Consequences
- Success itself can breed fear, making individuals suspect that their achievements are undeserved.
- Self-acceptance requires actively confronting the fear by taking calculated risks.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"if a question applies to you raise your hand"* (for the syndrome test).
- *"the term imposter syndrome is used to designate an internal feeling of intellectual fallenness found mostly in highly cheating people"* (sic).
- *"I respond with no I'm just good at pretending"* (a typical response).
- *"Success creates fear of success and the more successful you are the more likely you are to feel like your success isn't enough"* (key mechanism).
- *"The only solution is really to learn to control it yourself"* (primary call to action).
- *"I've come to understand that it's normal"* (acceptance).
- *"this success is mine"* (final declaration).