Good morning! I am so glad you chose to join me for my Lessons From God segment of Get Real with Tracy! Join us on our Vlog on YouTube channel GetReal with Tracy.
Today we are going to discuss How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome. This is something people have faced a time or two in their lifetime. It can raise it's ugly head at the most inopportune times like starting a Vlog, for instance! Yep! I have been struggling for months with Imposter Syndrome—Who are you? You're no expert! What makes you think people will want to listen to or see you? You're a narcissist! I could go on with examples of thoughts that have crossed my mind this summer. If you could see my carpet, it would show the heal marks drug through it as I have resisted pressing record!
Why do we face this? What can we do about it? Is it possible to overcome? Yes! Let's first see what the experts define it as:
Imposter Syndrome – the internal psychological experience of feeling like a phony in some are of your life, despite any success that you have achieved in that area.[1]
Includes:
- Self-doubt, even in areas where you typically excel.
- Restlessness/nervousness – manifests often in negative self-talk, symptoms of anxiety and depression
- Perfectionism – affects intelligence and achievement, which leads to a desire to be perfect in these areas.
The Five Types of Impostor Syndrome
According to researcher Dr. Valerie Young, there are five impostor types:
- The Perfectionist. This type of imposter syndrome involves believing that, unless you were absolutely perfect, you could have done better. You feel like an imposter because your perfectionistic traits make you believe that you're not as good as others might think you are.
- The Expert. The expert feels like an imposter because they don't know everything there is to know about a particular subject or topic, or they haven't mastered every step in a process. Because there is more for them to learn, they don't feel as if they've reached the rank of "expert."
- The Natural Genius. In this imposter syndrome type, you may feel like a fraud simply because you don't believe that you are naturally intelligent or competent. If you don't get something right the first time around or it takes you longer to master a skill, you feel like an imposter.
- The Soloist. It's also possible to feel like an imposter if you had to ask for help to reach a certain level or status. Since you couldn't get there on your own, you question your competence or abilities.
- The Superperson. This type of imposter syndrome involves believing that you must be the hardest worker or reach the highest levels of achievement possible and, if you don't, you are a fraud.[2]
As you can see, we are not the only ones who face Imposter Syndrome. It is real and ever present in our world. So how do we overcome it? I’m sure the experts will tell us to go to therapy, but God is the ultimate expert, after all, in Psalm 139: 13-14 the psalmist writes:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
God knows us so well. He is the one who created us in our mother’s womb. He gave each of us a purpose and He has a plan for our lives. We are not randomly here on this earth to wander aimlessly. We have a purpose!
This is where Satan enters into the picture. He knows what our purpose is- to expose his lies with the Truth of God’s love for mankind; to set captives free from his grip, and to show them Jesus, who died for them to set them free! We are called to be a witness to the love of God for a lost and dying world! You bet, Satan knows this, and that is why he works so hard to fill our minds and our world with lies, especially relating to our identity! If he can get us to doubt who we are to God, by feeding us subtitle little lies that sow doubt in our minds, then he can affectively silence us from fulfilling our purpose!
This is why we must combat his lies, especially when it comes to speaking and sharing what God has done for us. He knows how powerful our testimony is and how it can shift the atmosphere of doom and gloom into hope, peace and love. This is why we must fight and defeat Imposter Syndrome!
So where do we begin to defeat imposter syndrome? First, we must start with our identity. God tells us in Genesis 1:27,
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
As a creator myself, the process of creation has to be birthed from within my heart, mind and soul. It takes thought, planning and then the process of expressing that creative idea. As we saw in Psalm 139, God knit us together. That is the process of God’s thoughts about us and the planning to bring those thoughts into reality through his knitting us together in our mother’s womb! Close your eyes and let that sink in! Before you were born, God knew you! Jeremiah 1:5 tells us;
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.
I love how this verse tells us that before God knit us together in the womb; He knew us!
- He had thought about us
- What we would look like
- The color of our hair
- Our gender—male or female
- How tall we would be
- Where we would live
- Who our parents would be
- What our personality would be like
- What gifts he would give us
- When we would find Jesus
That is pretty amazing if you think about it! God knew what purpose we would be created for before He formed us!
So you see why the enemy attacks our identity the most! He knows he cannot stand against us when we know who we are and why we are here on this earth!
Notice his attacks are in our thoughts! He knows if he has a chance to stop us it is through our thoughts about our identity, or the purpose God has called us to! We can easily counter his flaming arrows and extinguish them by renewing our minds. I had heard someone say that the Bible tells us to renew our minds 365 times, however, I could not substantiate this. It certainly is plausible because God is pretty deliberate in things He does.
Renewing our minds involves replacing the lies of the enemy with the truth of God’s Word. This effectively disarms the lie and renders it ineffective. Jesus modeled this in his temptation by Satan in Matthew 4:1-11. It is critical to be a student of God’s Word, reading it daily and thinking about what you have learned from it. A great tool I use in my daily Bible Study and Devotions is the YouVersion Bible App. Each year, I read through the entire Bible through the app. It helps me stay on track and I can even listen to it via the read out loud option. I highly recommend you download it.
Putting on the full armor of God is something we should do daily to arm and protect ourselves from the flaming arrows of attack by the enemy. My new book Hope’s Transformative Power, Overcoming Hopelessness. Empower Your Life with Hope, Faith and Love. Explains the process of putting on the full armor of God which involves:
Belt of Truth – refers to God’s word about who we are and scriptures pertaining to the battle before us that we are fighting!
Breastplate of Righteousness - protects our heart and soul. Righteousness is obtained by the work of the cross. Jesus gave us righteousness!
Feet fitted with the Gospel - interesting, our feet are what carry us to bring the Gospel to a lost and dying world! How beautiful are the feet upon the mountain that bring good news!
Shield of Faith - powerful, able to extinguish the fiery arrows the enemy shoots at us! We must always carry it to protect us and deflect his lies!
Helmet of Salvation - protecting our minds, reminding us of who we are and whose we are! Salvation sets us free from the lies of the enemy who loves to attack our minds if we let him! Put your helmet on!
Sword - the Word of God - the most powerful weapon we must use, the Word is sharper than a double edge sword, able to separate bone and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 (NIV); able to break chains and set captives free (Luke 4:18 NIV. Pick it up and use it wisely! It can be deadly so be careful how you use it - build up the body with it and do not tear it down, which becomes legalism.
Stand! - after putting on the full armor of God, we are told to stand (Eph 6:13) - why? Who fights our battles?
The next step is knowing that the enemy is like a roaring lion waiting to devour us so we need to be on the offensive, keep watch, recognize his voice by knowing God’s voice! If you are suddenly unsure of something, confused about it and doubting, that is a great indicator it is the enemy at work. God is not a God of confusion. He promises to lead and guide us on the path He has chosen for us. To think otherwise is a sign the enemy is messing with your mind!
Lastly, remember that the Holy Spirit lives within us and therefore we have power and authority over the enemy. Plus, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us to overcome Romans 8:26-27! How can we not win! God Himself is interceding for you to have victory! Shift your mind to the victory that is given to you by Jesus' defeat of Satan by dying on the cross for you! You are covered in His salvation, power and authority that Satan is powerless to overcome!
Defeat Imposter Syndrome and kick it to the curb by
- Remembering who you are to God, this is your true identity. Stand on it!
- Recognize the lies of the enemy and counter them with
- The Truth of God’s Word
- Putting on the Full Armor of God
- Renewing Your Mind with God’s Word
- Standing on the Promises of God
- Satan cannot stand against you because of the blood of Jesus covering you
- Stand Firm in the Lord and watch Him fight your battles!
So here I go! I pushed record and with that little push of the button; I kicked Satan to the curb along with his Imposter Syndrome! What are you going to do today to defeat Satan’s attacks? Write it in the comments below. What encouraged you today from this Lesson from God?
Thank you for taking the time with me today to learn how to defeat Imposter Syndrome in our lives! Have a blessed day and remember to like, subscribe, and share this with someone you know could use the encouragement today!
May the Lord bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you today!
Sources:
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
[1] Thesesa Chiechi. VeryWellMind. https://www.verywellmind.com/imposter-syndrom-and-social-anxiety-disorder-4156469
[2] Dr. Valerie Young, VeryWellMind. https://www.verywellmind.com/imposter-syndrom-and-social-anxiety-disorder-4156469