Today I participated in a very interesting training at work about public speaking. One of the reasons we organised such a training in the first place is that some of us, or most probably all of us at different degrees, are affected by the imposter syndrome. I discovered this concept quite recently, and what I have noticed since is that all kinds of persons can suffer from it – even Maya Angelou and Albert Einstein! I wonder then if the real reason behind it is rather the pressure our capitalist society puts on all of us to always be the best, and work harder and harder to deserve what we get in return.
This morning though when we were talking about it, I thought there might be some positive in it. Doubting ourselves leads us not only to do better but also to be better persons, and to learn from people we admire and who know more than us. Isn’t this a good thing? Also, the contrary would mean being arrogant, and it’s certainly not a quality I would like to acquire.
Speaking of arrogance, I have been thinking a lot lately that I should learn from confident white men. They talk with confidence, they are not afraid to raise the voice to make themselves heard, they take space and they get what they want. During the training this morning I was challenged to rethink my position. Do we really prefer to listen to overconfident person who never question themselves? Humility is gaining more and more traction. People want authenticity and vulnerability, let’s not hide it.
And if you suffer from imposter syndrome, you are not alone.
Blabbering of a millennial 