I’m curious…Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you felt that you were in over your head, but you proceeded as if you weren’t? I know that I have, and I mean many times over the course of my life.
It is not uncommon for us to find ourselves in situations where we are out of our element, maybe beyond our experience or training, and we feel vulnerable and even dumb.
There is a term for this, and it is called “imposter syndrome”. According to Wikipedia, Impostor syndrome, also known as impostor phenomenon or impostorism, is a psychological experience of intellectual and professional fraudulence. In other words, Imposter syndrome is when you doubt your own skills and successes. You feel you’re not as talented or worthy as others believe, and you’re scared that one day, people will realize that. Although it’s not a mental health diagnosis, imposter syndrome can cause real harm in different areas of your life.
Okay, so we know what this is, and we can agree that we have all felt it at least once in our lifetime. So, what do we do with this? Here is where I challenge all of you.
It is not natural to show vulnerability, but this is a situation where it is critical. There is no harm is saying that you are out of your element on something and that you will do your best to keep up or that you will go do some research and come back with answers. I am not sure why, other than ego, but this seems to be something that is hard for most people to do.
Do not fear this for a moment. It gives you credibility and makes you look stronger and more mature. Believe me, when a person embraces the imposter and pretends like they are an expert on something that they know little about, everyone around them can see. This is a very quick way to lose credibility, and it can be hard to get back once it is lost.
The next time that you find yourself in this situation, stop, think, and then react with honesty and vulnerability. It will benefit you and you will be glad that you took this path.