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Even after writing eleven books 
and winning several prestigious awards,

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Maya Angelou couldn’t escape 
the nagging doubt

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that she hadn’t really earned 
her accomplishments.

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Albert Einstein experienced 
something similar:

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he described himself 
as an “involuntary swindler”

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whose work didn’t deserve 
as much attention as it had received.

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Accomplishments at the level 
of Angelou’s or Einstein’s are rare,

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but their feeling of fraudulence 
is extremely common.

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Why can’t so many of us shake feelings

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that we haven’t earned 
our accomplishments,

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or that our ideas and skills 
aren’t worthy of others’ attention?

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Psychologist Pauline Rose Clance 
was the first to study

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this unwarranted sense of insecurity.

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In her work as a therapist,

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she noticed many of her undergraduate 
patients shared a concern:

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though they had high grades,

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they didn’t believe they deserved 
their spots at the university.

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Some even believed their acceptance 
had been an admissions error.

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While Clance knew these fears 
were unfounded,

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she could also remember feeling
the exact same way in graduate school.

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She and her patients experienced
something that goes by a number of names--

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imposter phenomenon,

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imposter experience,

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and imposter syndrome.

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Together with colleague Suzanne Imes,

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Clance first studied imposterism
in female college students and faculty.

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Their work established pervasive
feelings of fraudulence in this group.

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Since that first study,

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the same thing has been established 
across gender,

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race,

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age,

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and a huge range of occupations,

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though it may be more prevalent 
and disproportionately affect

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the experiences of underrepresented 
or disadvantaged groups.

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To call it a syndrome 
is to downplay how universal it is.

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It's not a disease or an abnormality,

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and it isn’t necessarily 
tied to depression,

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anxiety,

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or self-esteem.

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Where do these feelings 
of fraudulence come from?

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People who are highly skilled 
or accomplished

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tend to think others are just as skilled.

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This can spiral into feelings 
that they don’t deserve accolades

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and opportunities over other people.

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And as Angelou and Einstein experienced,

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there’s often no threshold 
of accomplishment

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that puts these feelings to rest.

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Feelings of imposterism aren’t restricted 
to highly skilled individuals, either.

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Everyone is susceptible to a phenomenon 
known as pluralistic ignorance,

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where we each doubt ourselves privately,

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but believe we’re alone 
in thinking that way

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because no one else voices their doubts.

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Since it’s tough to really know 
how hard our peers work,

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how difficult they find certain tasks,

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or how much they doubt themselves,

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there’s no easy way to dismiss feelings 
that we’re less capable

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than the people around us.

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Intense feelings of imposterism

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can prevent people 
from sharing their great ideas

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or applying for jobs 
and programs where they’d excel.

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At least so far,

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the most surefire way 
to combat imposter syndrome

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is to talk about it.

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Many people suffering 
from imposter syndrome

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are afraid that if they ask 
about their performance,

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their fears will be confirmed.

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And even when 
they receive positive feedback,

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it often fails to ease 
feelings of fraudulence.

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But on the other hand,

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hearing that an advisor or mentor has
experienced feelings of imposterism

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can help relieve those feelings.

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The same goes for peers.

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Even simply finding out there’s a term 
for these feelings

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can be an incredible relief.

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Once you’re aware of the phenomenon,

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you can combat your own imposter syndrome 


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by collecting 
and revisiting positive feedback.

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One scientist who kept blaming herself 
for problems in her lab

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started to document the causes 
every time something went wrong.

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Eventually, she realized most 
of the problems

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came from equipment failure,

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and came to recognize her own competence.

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We may never be able 
to banish these feelings entirely,

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but we can have open conversations 
about academic or professional challenges.

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With increasing awareness 
of how common these experiences are,

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perhaps we can feel freer to be frank 
about our feelings

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and build confidence 
in some simple truths:

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you have talent,

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you are capable,

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and you belong.