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I Think I Have Impostor Syndrome: Signs & Ways To Overcome It.
“Chasing dreams is a marathon, not a sprint.”
- Nipsey Hussle (August 15, 1985- March 31, 2019)
Imagine running your victory lap. It’s the final stretch, and you’re exactly where you’d only dreamed of before this point. You’ve made it. You’ve checked every box, dotted every ‘i’, crossed every ‘t’, yet you still don’t feel like a winner. You still don’t feel deserving or worthy, despite days, weeks, months, and maybe even years of hard work.
“It doesn’t go away, that feeling that you shouldn’t take me that seriously,” Michelle Obama stated during an appearance at a London school. Our forever First Lady was talking about impostor syndrome and how it has affected her on her journey. People from all walks of life are affected by this persistent inability to believe their success is real and a result of their efforts, knowledge, or skills. Of course, if you are Black and woman, this inability occurs more frequently. For Black women, the impostor syndrome is potentially triggered by feeling like an outcast in predominantly White spaces, navigating gendered racial microaggressions, stereotype threat, or simply existing in a world that either ignores, silences, or objectifies them.
