Impostor syndrome is caused by a more general psychological phenomenon called the Spotlight Effect. The spotlight effect occurs when we feel that everyone is watching our every move. Because humans are largely egocentric (we’re the main characters of our own life story), we often overestimate how much attention other people pay to us. This often results in being overly self-conscious about your actions and presence when in reality, nobody really cares. 

The first step to overcoming impostor syndrome is understanding that you are your own worst critic. Whether you’re leading a team, in SOF selection, or presenting at a company meeting, you will always pay more attention to your own errors than others do. Similarly, just because you’re experiencing impostor syndrome and feeling inadequate doesn’t mean that other people see you in that light. Keep your head high and stay composed – you got this.

Everyone wishes that they could be a superhero. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Part of maturing in life is understanding that you have strengths and weaknesses – you can't be everything to everybody. Whether you’re in the military or civilian world, you’re bound to encounter situations where you feel uncomfortable or unprepared. Here’s the thing: nobody expects you to be a superhero.

For example, if you’re leading a team, nobody expects you to be built like Captain America, speak like Martin Luther King Jr., and have the empathy of Mother Teresa. They just expect you to lead. If you’re experiencing impostor syndrome, take some time to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Once you do that, tackle the tasks that you feel confident performing, and don’t be afraid to ask for help with your weaknesses. Being a leader doesn’t always mean being the smartest, strongest, most capable person in the room.

If you want to overcome your impostor syndrome, you must come to terms with the fact that you will make mistakes. Once you’ve done that, the next step is changing your mindset about errors.

Messing up doesn’t mean you’re a fraud or that you don’t belong. It means that you made a mistake and have to learn from it. Changing your mindset about making mistakes is crucial to your self-esteem and personal development. When you stop seeing errors as things that lower your value and start seeing them as opportunities to learn, your confidence will skyrocket, and impostor syndrome will disappear.

If you read our OA guides regularly (you should because they’re practical and badass), you’ll know that we’re huge supporters of planning and strategy. We’ve released several guides ranging from how to plan a mission to how to improve your strategic thinking. If you want an in-depth look at those topics, you’ll have to read their respective guides. But here’s the essence of how planning applies to eliminating impostor syndrome:

The more you plan and minimize your variables (things beyond your control that can go wrong), the better equipped you are to face challenges. The more confident you feel when confronting obstacles, the more confidently you can perform your job – thus eliminating impostor syndrome. Proper planning and strategy help you operate under pressure, even if you aren’t the ideal person for the job. Plan your mission, eliminate obstacles, and execute with confidence and aggression.

Many people suffering from impostor syndrome fear that asking for help will make them look weak and unprepared to handle their tasks. In reality, asking for help often has the opposite effect – it makes people respect and develop a relationship with you. Humans are highly social animals. Our brains are programmed to interact and cooperate at a primal level – working together is a survival mechanism. When you ask someone for help, their brain immediately and subconsciously registers you as a friend (after all, they would never help an enemy).

If you don’t know how to do something, ask! Seeking advice (even if your question sounds foolish) is much better than trying to guess your way through a task and making an error that jeopardizes your mission. There’s only one rule to asking questions: only ask the same question once. Not knowing how to do something the first time is natural; not knowing how to do something after it's explained to you is ignorant. Ask for help, but only if your question is genuine and relevant.

Finding the right people to ask for help can be challenging. After all, not everyone has the experience or knowledge to answer your questions. That’s why we created the Operators Association community. When you become an OA Aspiring Operator, you get access to exclusive resources and hundreds of people who will help you navigate the world of leadership, physical performance, and mental development. Become an aspiring operator and find the answers you seek today!