Sheer dumb luck has brought you this far in the game – surely it had nothing to do with your capabilities. Why are you even here anyway?

Hold your horses. You know that’s not true. You’re where you are because you deserve to be. Pat yourself on the back, pal.

When left unchecked, impostor syndrome can do some real damage on your self-worth. There’s no telling how it will come, in debilitating waves that leave you breathless and drowning. Or, one day, it just shows up at your doorstep – knocking, nagging, taunting.

“Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Impostor syndrome.

Impostor syndrome who?

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Okay, a tad too harsh but that pretty much sums up how impostor syndrome makes you feel: downright lame. The good news? Impostor syndrome happens to everyone. Even to the best ones. Maya Angelou, Albert Einstein, Lady Gaga, David Bowie, Serena Williams, Howard Schultz – all wildly successful, each one having had to battle with bouts of impostor syndrome.

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But philosopher Michel de Montaigne said it best, “Kings and philosophers shit, and so do ladies. Even on the highest throne in the world, we are seated still upon our arses.” We all mess up – royalty and geniuses included, no exceptions.

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That said, there’s no one way to cure impostor syndrome; but a great start would be to speak up about it. Not necessarily a case of misery loves company, but more of… strength in numbers or comfort in confidants. The more people who speak up about it, the more ways of vanquishing it we’ll find.

Work through impostor syndrome anytime it comes a-knockin’ with these questions.

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Process impostor syndrome. Then talk about it when you’re ready. One thing’s for sure: You’re not alone.