Stop imposter syndrome, start choosing confidence

A lot of people  - and we are talking very, very 'super successful' people - tell us that they suffer from imposter syndrome

Famously, even the multi award winning actress Meryl Streep is quoted as saying,

“You think, why would anyone want to see me again in a movie? And I don’t know how to act anyway, so why am I doing this?”

What is fascinating is that these ‘super successful’ people are often falling for the myth that everyone else surrounding them is way more confident and composed than they themselves are. The Meryl Streep sentiment is playing on repeat in their mind

It's fascinating because we often don't realise that the reason you can’t hear other people’s inner monologues of self-doubt isn’t that they don’t have them. It’s because you only have access to your own mind, your own imposter syndrome playing repeat, minute by minute, hour by hour

As the UK organisation Action for Happiness points out, one of the biggest reasons many of us feel miserable is because we constantly, "compare our insides with other people's outsides". We're all vigorously projecting a facade of confident capability, while inside we're feeling like imposters, like we are making it up as we go along

We forget, especially given the perfectly curated social media posts we self-hatingly doom scroll, that everyone else is doing the exact same thing. The only difference is that they think it's you who's truly competent, whilst they are the ones feeling like the imposter!

At Progressfull, our whole ethos is to, ‘make our minds a great place to be’ and one of the helpful ways to do this is to stop imposter syndrome and start choosing confidence. To help people with exactly this type of challenge we share our magic formula - understanding the beliefs, behaviours, and mind-sets that hinder your progress and those that help you progress, then choosing the beliefs, behaviours, and mind-sets that build your confidence and make your mind a great place to be

At Progressfull, when we think about confidence, we call it ‘choosing’ confidence, because it is something we actively choose to do, it doesn’t just happen. Choosing Confidence is about learning how to choose self-assurance, poise and self-belief. Learning how to choose to trust yourself and know you are enough. Choosing to make your mind a great place to be. A place where you choose what to play on repeat. A place where you choose to believe that imposter syndrome is lying to you

So we choose to stop feeling like an imposter and choose to start building feelings of capability and confidence by swapping perfection for progress

Swapping perfection for progress means we aim for progress, not perfection. Even the smallest steps of progress move us forward - and progress is addictive - these steps of progress give us an addictive dopamine hit of achievement and momentum. This inspires us to take the next small step forward, consistently taking steps forward, gets us further away from feeling like an imposter and helps make our minds a great place to be, sparking confidence with each new step 

So learning how to stop feeling like an imposter and start to Choose Confidence happens small step by small step

It is just like building any muscle, it takes time, it takes consistency, and it happens through practice. There is no magic wand, yet there is our magic formula

Understanding the beliefs, behaviours, and mind-sets that hinder your progress and those that help you progress, then choosing the beliefs, behaviours, and mind-sets that build your confidence and make your mind a great place to be

So, what on earth are they then? Well, Progressfull has done the hard work for you and identified these beliefs, behaviours and mind-sets. The steps then become as straight forward as letting go of the restricting ones and adopting the releasing ones. Instead of the imposter syndrome playing on repeat the releasing practices will start to play on repeat and your mind will start to become a great place to be

So, an example of a Releasing practice which helps you choose confidence is,

"I focus on being my best self and being poised"

People who are progressfull - strong, poised, curious and open - focus on being their best-self and being poised. They know they can cope with whatever situation they find themselves in and understand that some of the most challenging situations they might face often lead to the best experiences life has to offer. Those of us who are successful on the outside, yet wonky on the inside, tend to feel less confident, are often anxious and stressed - and are rarely poised

The Choosing Confidence Releasing practices are simple yet profound, practical yet transforming, and will take us from feeling overwhelmed and unfulfilled to inspired, energised and on-track

Building the daily habit or daily practice of applying the Releasing practices moves you forward. Your confidence muscles grow and grow, step by step with each practice. Your imposter syndrome stops lying to you, stops playing on repeat, and instead your mind starts becoming a great place to be

Realising the symbiotic relationship between practice and confidence is magnificently motivating!

Because we could see that a lot of people struggle with Choosing Confidence and would really benefit from discovering these beliefs, behaviours, and mind-sets so that they too can develop the regular practice of letting go of the restricting ones and adopting the releasing ones, we created an Upskill (our name for a course) to help them do just this

Our Choosing Confidence Upskill combines bite-sized videos, private podcasts, 121 Mentor sessions, bespoke Journals and purposeful self-reflection exercises for you to apply - at home, at work, in your whole life

Our Choosing Confidence Upskill builds your confidence so you know your worth - what you bring, what you offer - and gives you mind-sets, behaviours and beliefs to support, affirm and encourage you to be the best version of yourself - a first-rate you!

That's the magic formula for you to discover and start to practice, so you can stop imposter syndrome and start choosing confidence - making your mind a great place to be

You can discover more about our Choosing Confidence Upskill (our name for a course) here