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>implicit notion is that your worthiness is so obvious Where do you get the idea that this is part of imposter syndrome? The whole concept of imposter syndrome

>implicit notion is that your worthiness is so obvious Where do you get the idea that this is part of imposter syndrome? The whole concept of imposter syndrome is that it's an irrationally held belief and the person doesn't feel worthy despite evidence to the contrary. That your own experience with people making the claim has been from people from elite schools/jobs/etc. doesn't prove anything about imposter syndrome being fundamentally a humble brag: Half the people that apply to elite schools exceed the average academic profile for admission to those schools and there are plenty of qualified candidates for most job openings in elite workplaces. Chance & luck play a huge part in in who, of the many qualified individuals, get those spots. Why is it hard for you to understand that some people irrationally but honestly focus exclusively on the chance & luck aspects of their accomplishments? Irrationality is hardly uncommon, why is it difficult to believe that imposter syndrome isn't just another one, and instead must be some sort of bragging? It is also possible that, in your social circles, people are simply misusing the term as a misguided way to acknowledge the role that chance & luck played in their success. Of course there's always going to be some annoying people that often use it as a chance to slip "I went to an Ivy League school" or some other brag into a conversation, but that doesn't mean everyone does.

faeriechangling 5y ago
> The whole concept of imposter syndrome is that it's an irrationally held belief and the person doesn't feel worthy despite evidence to the contrary. So in other words the concept with imposter syndrome is that peoples worthiness is obvious? It would be impossible for me to deny that there must be somebody out there with irrationally low self esteem, yet the fact that imposter syndrome MOSTLY affects people of privilege implies that it’s grounded in rationality. We’re it just a completely arbitrary phenomenon Joe working as a fry cook would feel it just as strongly as Bob working as a CEO. It’s taken as a just-so foregone conclusion that if you are experiencing imposter syndrome, you’re irrational. Nobody will ever go into a therapists office, tell them they think they’re an imposter, and be told “yup sure seems that way, may as well make the best of it”. It’s taken as a self-evident truth that anything but high self esteem is an irrational state of being, and people repeat this to themselves and others. Its all very self serving and I’m distrustful.
- ineedasername 5y ago
  >So in other words the concept with imposter syndrome is that peoples worthiness is obvious? I really don't know how you are getting to that interpretation of what I wrote. Imposter syndrome is literally the opposite: That to the people who experience imposter syndrome, their worthiness is not obvious to themselves even given ample evidence. You are also mixing together two separate concepts, even if they are somewhat related. Imposter syndrome is not simply about self esteem. A successful person can know & feel they are competent and at the same time believe they don't deserve what they have compared to others who are just as good but didn't have the advantages. Or a person can have low self-esteem but still know they're good at their job. It's not all or nothing. Imposter syndrome is something much more specific. It often pertains more to feelings of professional incompetence, and in particular that the person has committed a kind of trickery or fraud to get where they are. >Nobody will ever go into a therapists office, tell them they think they’re an imposter, and be told “yup sure seems that way, may as well make the best of it”. >It’s taken as a just-so foregone conclusion that if you are experiencing imposter syndrome, you’re irrational You seem to think this is wrong, it is not. Take a step back for a second and consider this statement: "It is irrational to believe something when it runs counter to strong evidence." That seems correct to me. Would you agree beliefs that contradict strong evidence are irrational? Well, the definition of imposter syndrome is that the person believes they're an imposter even when that belief runs counter to all available evidence. Think of four categories of people: 1) A person is not an imposter, and does not feel like one. This is not imposter syndrome 2) A person believes they are an imposter, and they actually are an imposter: They knowingly lie, forged their resume, etc. This is also not imposter syndrome 3) A person does not believe they're an imposter, but they truly are incompetent, know very little about their jobs, and don't even realize how awful they are. This is also not imposter syndrome In fact it's more like the opposite, perhaps Dunning Kruger. 4) A person is great at their job. They get constant praise, rise the career ladder, has provably & tangible beneficial work attributed to them, but still for some reason they feel like they are faking it, that it all comes from luck and deception. This is imposter syndrome

faeriechangling 5y ago

> The whole concept of imposter syndrome is that it's an irrationally held belief and the person doesn't feel worthy despite evidence to the contrary. So in other words the concept with imposter syndrome is that peoples worthiness is obvious? It would be impossible for me to deny that there must be somebody out there with irrationally low self esteem, yet the fact that imposter syndrome MOSTLY affects people of privilege implies that it’s grounded in rationality. We’re it just a completely arbitrary phenomenon Joe working as a fry cook would feel it just as strongly as Bob working as a CEO. It’s taken as a just-so foregone conclusion that if you are experiencing imposter syndrome, you’re irrational. Nobody will ever go into a therapists office, tell them they think they’re an imposter, and be told “yup sure seems that way, may as well make the best of it”. It’s taken as a self-evident truth that anything but high self esteem is an irrational state of being, and people repeat this to themselves and others. Its all very self serving and I’m distrustful.

ineedasername 5y ago
>So in other words the concept with imposter syndrome is that peoples worthiness is obvious? I really don't know how you are getting to that interpretation of what I wrote. Imposter syndrome is literally the opposite: That to the people who experience imposter syndrome, their worthiness is not obvious to themselves even given ample evidence. You are also mixing together two separate concepts, even if they are somewhat related. Imposter syndrome is not simply about self esteem. A successful person can know & feel they are competent and at the same time believe they don't deserve what they have compared to others who are just as good but didn't have the advantages. Or a person can have low self-esteem but still know they're good at their job. It's not all or nothing. Imposter syndrome is something much more specific. It often pertains more to feelings of professional incompetence, and in particular that the person has committed a kind of trickery or fraud to get where they are. >Nobody will ever go into a therapists office, tell them they think they’re an imposter, and be told “yup sure seems that way, may as well make the best of it”. >It’s taken as a just-so foregone conclusion that if you are experiencing imposter syndrome, you’re irrational You seem to think this is wrong, it is not. Take a step back for a second and consider this statement: "It is irrational to believe something when it runs counter to strong evidence." That seems correct to me. Would you agree beliefs that contradict strong evidence are irrational? Well, the definition of imposter syndrome is that the person believes they're an imposter even when that belief runs counter to all available evidence. Think of four categories of people: 1) A person is not an imposter, and does not feel like one. This is not imposter syndrome 2) A person believes they are an imposter, and they actually are an imposter: They knowingly lie, forged their resume, etc. This is also not imposter syndrome 3) A person does not believe they're an imposter, but they truly are incompetent, know very little about their jobs, and don't even realize how awful they are. This is also not imposter syndrome In fact it's more like the opposite, perhaps Dunning Kruger. 4) A person is great at their job. They get constant praise, rise the career ladder, has provably & tangible beneficial work attributed to them, but still for some reason they feel like they are faking it, that it all comes from luck and deception. This is imposter syndrome