Imposter Syndrome

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Shay

I love this series by the design team.

Time and time again, I’ve come across people talking about imposter syndrome especially in the field of design. I’ve never felt that in design, maybe its because I’m usually operating at the right level for me and not putting myself in crazy situations which are unknown and cause other anxieties to surface, or maybe it’s because I’ve been doing it for a while.

But I know there are situational feelings and emotions that can manifest themselves as the symptoms and doubts people normally associate with imposter syndrome.

I did feel imposter syndrome for a year or so when I was teaching back in 2005. I kept thinking, you’ve definitely forest gumped your way here and you don’t deserve this.

My saving grace then was the fact that I somehow innately thought it was normal. We have a tendency to label stuff, to self diagnose ourselves and sometimes we’re spot on. Like I know I have some hidden degree of OCD and it gets worse when I’m stressed, but the key to gaining control of it is to own it.

The comic sums it up nicely.