On Friday I am leading a discussion for the COAST Women in Science Group about imposter syndrome. The feeling that you are an imposter, and everything else knows what they are doing, but you are a fraud. Its a common feeling among many folks, across career fields, and stages. It can be really debilitating and discouraging, and we’re hoping have an open discussion about it will help everyone realize that they are not alone.

I asked folks on twitter to share their resources about battling imposter syndrome with me, and I’m going to link them here so everyone can take advantage.

“Set up a email folder and/or directory for compliments, good news, etc that you receive from others. Set up a different folder to put the nonsense, hate, and threats into.”

“If you keep a calendar (& you should keep a calendar), look back 3 to 6 months and see how much you’ve learned, done, contributed, etc since then. Day-to-day progress adds up, but it sometimes happens so slowly you forget to take stock of your awesomeness.”

“When you feel overwhelmed because you’ve signed on to Too Many Things, try to reframe it not as failure, but as confidence from your mentors and collaborators that you can Do The Things. Then, prioritize and communicate with folks about your limits. It’s ok to Not Do Things.”

When you say no to others, you say yes to yourself

https://captainawkward.com/2016/04/19/855-overcoming-imposter-syndrome-and-accessing-mental-health-support/

https://caitlinhudon.com/2018/01/19/imposter-syndrome-in-data-science/

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2017/05/the-neil-story-with-additional-footnote.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/05/the-confidence-gap/359815/

https://timescavengers.blog/2018/06/11/imposter-syndrome-in-graduate-school/

https://www.apmpodcasts.org/thwod/2018/08/impostor-syndrome-true-tales-tricks-and-tactics-for-when-youre-feeling-fraudulent/

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/04/do-you-have-severe-impostor-syndrome.html