How to Actually Overcome Imposter Syndrome on Monday Morning

Okay so we've covered A LOT in this series. The label (imposter syndrome) that was never accurate. And how Self-Trust is the self-skill needed to combat it. So this week, I want you to actually try something to overcome imposter syndrome once and for all:

Stop waiting to be complimented. Say your own win out loud first!

Most advice tells you how to receive praise better. You could pause, breathe, accept it gracefully.

But that's still just sitting there waiting for someone else to hand you permission to feel good about your own work. No thank you!

So flip it. Before anyone even gets the chance to tell you the project went well… You tell THEM. "That actually went really well, I'm so proud of how it turned out." Just say it. Out loud. To whoever's standing there. You're not fishing for anything back.

You're just stating a fact, because it IS one.

It's going to feel so weird the first time you do it. Good. It's supposed to! You've spent years handing the verdict on your own work over to everyone else's reactions instead of your own.

But once you've said it yourself? There's nothing left for that deflection reflex to grab onto. You already claimed it. Nobody's praise is landing on unclaimed territory anymore.

Try it just once this week. ONE TIME. Say the thing before someone else gets to. And once you feel what that actually does, please don't let it stay a one time thing!

Celebrating yourself isn't just for the big wins, the promotions, the stuff that's obviously worth mentioning. It's a habit you build on the small stuff too. The email you finally sent. The meeting you actually led well. The hard conversation you didn't dodge. The more you say it out loud, the less weird it starts to feel.

That's really all Self-Trust is, honestly. Practice. Not some personality trait you're either born with or not.

That word (imposter syndrome) taught you to treat every normal moment of doubt like proof you didn't belong. Saying your own win out loud, before anyone else gets to? That's you doing the exact opposite, on purpose. Proof, stacked on proof, that you built yourself. The kind no label can ever talk you out of again.

That's not overcoming imposter syndrome. That's just never needing the word again!

xo, Lindsey

(Book your coaching first coaching session here!)

PS - Celebrating oneself and building Self-Trust has continued to be an imposter syndrome stopper with my coaching clients. Here is a a sweet message from a client after working on this together.