Good morning everyone, my name is Sơn Kha, and I have some questions for you.

Do you ever
feel like you have not done enough? Do you feel that your effort is not worth it? Or that you
don’t belong to the spot you earn at school right now? Just think about it for a bit, you don’t have
to answer me. If the answer is yes, then you may be suffering from Imposter syndrome. It
basically means you feel like you don’t deserve your success, and that one day people will call
you out for being a fake. The technical term is more complicated than that, so instead, I will tell
you three common signs to check if you have Imposter syndrome, that is: The feeling like you
don’t deserve your success, fear of being found out, and relying on people’s praises. This will
help you understand the term better and see if you are also suffering from it.
The easiest sign you can see is that you doubt your ability and success. This mean you feel like
you succeed only because of luck or other factors, not because you work hard to earn it. Or even
worse, even when you actually do something well, there’s always a voice in your head telling
you that you could have done better, it’s just luck that you can do well like that. For instance, you
are nominated for an award, but you feel like others are better than you, they should be the ones
who receive the award, not you. Your success becomes meaningless because you always think
“I’m not worthy” or “I don’t deserve this”.
Because you feel like you don’t deserve your success, you are scared of being “found out”. You
are afraid that one day, somebody will see that you are not as talented as they think you are and
point it out. Let’s say you’re about to give a presentation. Even when you have prepared your
script, and you remember what to say, you still feel like standing on a cliff, thinking “ This is it,
this is the moment my friends will find out I’m not who they think I am. They will find out I’m
not as good as they thought”. The fear is so strong that you end up overworking just to hide your
flaws because you are so afraid of people pointing out that you are not good enough. Sometimes,
we choose to stop trying instead. What better way to avoid being found out than to just, simply
not doing anything at all? Because you are scared to fail again, you stop trying so hard, then no
one will see how terrible you are.
The feeling of doubt in your ability, of fear that I have mentioned, all of that pushes you to
actively look for praise from other people. As you don’t trust yourself, it will be better to let
others judge you. You always need to hear praise from your friends, family, or teachers. Just
some good words can make your day, while a single mean comment can make you doubt
everything you’ve done. Looking back at my previous example, let’s say you get over your fear
and deliver the presentation. You think you did a good job, your friends think you also did well.
But your teacher points out there are still some areas that you need to improve. This confirms
your worst fears – that you fail. It doesn’t matter if a thousand people are praising you, what
matters is you made a mistake. You rely too much on the approval of others to decide your self-
worth, and your emotions is on a rollercoaster all the time, as you beat yourself up every time
you make a mistake.
I have talked about the three most common symptoms of impostor syndrome: self-doubt, fear of
a fraud, and constant approval. So I just have one final thing to say: imposter syndrome is not an
illness and knowing that you are suffering from it is the first step to change. If you feel that you
have one of the signs I have mentioned, then it’s time to confront the impostor within you. Tell
that ugly creature that it doesn’t get to choose what you are capable of or decide your worth.
Remind yourself of all the little stuff you did right, the achievements you get, and stand tall. You
are worthy, you deserve your place, and hold your head high, imposter syndrome or not.