7 Tips for Connecting Your Inner Brand With Your Outer Brand

Despite your intelligence, professional credentials, and experience you just don’t measure up. The evidence of your competence is unmistakable, but instead you dismiss your accomplishments or influence as a result of luck, being in the right place at the right time, or knowing the right people. While it is quite possible that some levels of success can be attributed to those factors, it’s more likely that your accomplishments are a direct by-product of hard work, perseverance, and preparedness.  Some cannot relate to this concept, but for many it's a reality. Many professionals, business owners, and leaders are waiting to be "outed".  They live in fear that someone will discover that they are not as together as they appear to be, despite external evidence of their competence.  This psychological phenomenon is known as the Impostor Syndrome. It describes high achievers that are unable to internalize their accomplishments or successes and those afflicted with the Impostor Syndrome are convinced that they are frauds. 

The Impostor Syndrome can be crippling, but it is not a life sentence. I know because, despite notable accomplishments and experience, I am an Impostor Syndrome Survivor.  Recovery does not happen overnight. As a survivor, I've pushed through doubts and uncertainties to become a business owner and an intelligent risk taker. Here are some tips that have proven helpful for me: 

1) Acknowledge that you suffer from the Impostor Syndrome.  You won’t fix it until you acknowledge that it’s broken. 
2) Embrace positive feedback. When complimented, simply say…thank you. Resist the urge to downplay your accomplishments. 
3) List your accomplishments and compare them to your failures. Notice something? Remember every successful person has failed at something, use failures as lessons and motivators. 
4) Be resourceful. It’s okay to ask for help.  Most successful people surround themselves with knowledgeable support systems. Not having all the answers does not negate your competence. 
5) Step out of your comfort zone. Successful people feel stifled when stuck in the comfort zone and it’s an incubator for the Impostor Syndrome. Feelings of accomplishment are heightened when we conquer a challenge. You need to be in the challenge zone, not the comfort zone. If fear is holding you back, read #3 again. 
6) Stop comparing yourself to others. Often there is a difference between what you think a person knows versus what they actually know. If you need more convincing, read #4 again.   
7) Be accountable for your successes. You’ve prepared and you’ve worked hard, your credibility, influence, and accomplishments are the results.