Reader Idea | How to Beat Impostor Syndrome (2024)

This month we’ve been featuring projects conceived and written by members of our teenage Student Council, and this one, by the council members Julia Huebner and Dania Gasimmalla, is an interesting hybrid of advice column and lesson plan.

Ms. Huebner and Ms. Gasimmalla share insights and advice on understanding and countering impostor syndrome, but they also suggest questions and activities teachers can use to work with this topic in the classroom.

Do you teach, or learn, with The Times? Tell us about it here.

Students: Julia Huebner, 18, and Dania Gasimmalla, 14

Institutions: Ms. Huebner is a student at Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago, and Ms. Gasimmalla goes to school at the Altrincham Grammar School for Girls in Cheshire, England.

Idea: Five ways to beat the impostor syndrome — and tips for helping students read, write, talk and think about the issue.

Why We Chose It: One benefit of having teenage advisors for our blog is that they see things in The Times that we might have overlooked. This topic is one we’ve never before covered in the nearly 18 years The Learning Network has been around.

As these students point out, “No matter how confident or studious someone might appear, most of us will experience the impostor syndrome at some point in our educational or professional careers.” We love their “lesson plan from a student’s perspective” for helping combat it.

How to Beat Impostor Syndrome
by Julia Huebner and Dania Gasimmalla

The room erupts in applause; friends give you warm smiles and thumbs-up as you step down from the podium. “You were great!” a peer whispers when you return to your seat. “I got lucky,” you deflect, brushing off the compliment.

Instead of basking in the well-deserved praise, you’re anxious.Any minute now, they’re going to find out that you’re a fraud, a phony, an impostor. Instead of feeling satisfied with your success, you excuse away praise and congratulations, citing luck and good timing as sole factors.

Sound familiar? These feelings can plague anyone from middle school students to journalists at The New York Times. Even for us, students on The Learning Network’s Student Council, it’s easy to fall victim to the comparison and self-doubt that are part ofimpostor syndrome.

In the1970s, researchers gave a name tothis social strategy of self-depreciation anddefined itas “phoniness in people who believe that they are not intelligent, capable or creative despite evidence of high achievement.” Although impostor syndrome can affect everyone, studies show that women are particularly prone to feeling phony when they shouldn’t.

No matter how confident or studious someone might appear, most of us will experience impostor syndrome at some point in our educational or professional careers. It’s easy tounderstandwhy: Whether it isimplicitly or explicitly comparing ourselves to peers; buying into the façade of perfectionism perpetuated by social media; or, for high schoolers, joining the rat race of college admissions, impostorism is everywhere.

And while impostor syndrome can serve as a coping mechanism to decrease the pressure to succeed, no one wants to feel like they didn’t earn what he or she has.

So whether you’re a teacher, counselor, or student looking to curb impostor syndrome, check out this lesson plan from a student’s perspective.

1. First, read Carl Richards’s “Learning to Deal With the Impostor Syndrome” and Benedict Carey’s “Feel Like a Fraud? At Times, Maybe You Should.”

You can also listen to Mr. Richards’s advice here:

The first step in fighting impostor syndrome is knowing that it exists and that it is a psychological and sociological phenomenon, rather thana reflection of your true ability. Simply defining and recognizing it can help combat it before it hits.

Tip: After reading the two articles, think back to the last time you felt like an impostor. Did you downplay yourself in front of others or in private? Were you conscious of how phony you felt, or was it automatic? Do you usually feel confident, or do you default to feeling like a fraud? Simply defining and recognizing the way that the impostor syndrome affects you is the first step in combating it.

2. Realize how often you compare yourself to others.

It’s so easy for us to compare ourselves to others (and our G.P.A.s, exam scores, college statuses, and Instagram photos). While comparison can motivate us to achieve, constant comparison is a breeding ground for insecurity and jealousy. Don’t let peers who are naturally gifted at something dissuade you from taking risks in that arena.

Tip: Try tallying the number of times per day you compare yourself to someone else, even indirectly. Realizing how much we compare ourselves is a necessary first step in stemming unproductive self-disparagement.

3. Know that they’re faking it, too.

When you feel like you’re the only impostor in the room, remember that most people feel it and simply don’t want to admit it.

According to Carl Richards, even celebrities have felt like impostors. In his piece, he quotes the poet Maya Angelou as saying: “I have written 11 books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’” If Maya Angelou canovercome her self-doubt, you can too!

Teacher tip: In the classroom, have students write down a time when they’ve felt like an impostor on a loose leaf piece of paper, crumple the paper into a ball, and throw it into a designated area of the room. You can read aloudeach “snowball.” This allows students to sharetheir experiences and realize that others feel the same way while keeping reflections anonymous.

Student tip: When you’re feeling a pang of impostor syndrome, tell someone (anyone!) how you’re feeling. Chances are they’ve felt the same and can empathize with that nagging self-doubt.

4. Take (and give!) that compliment.

We (especially women) are brought up to downplay accomplishments and apologize when we shouldn’t.

When you win that competition or ace that test, compliment yourself and thank others when they compliment you. As a bonus,save feel-good notes from others and refer back to them when you’re feeling like an impostor. Additionally, recognizing the accomplishments of others through verbal or written praise can break down barriers of competition.

Tip: For one day,givemeaningful compliments to your friends and see how they respond. If they deflect, call them out on it! Conversely, accept every compliment you receive.Instead of “it was all luck!” go with“Thank you!”

5. Don’t let your mistakes defeat you.

We rarely hear about the many failures successfulpeopleexperience before they break through. When we do, we tend to pay more attention tothe resolution than the struggle.

Instead of admiring others based on their successes, what if we equated meaningful failure with earned success? Just because you got something wrong once doesn’t mean you’re not good enough.That one Con a calculus test doesn’t mean you’re bad at all math, just as one petty argument doesn’t make you a bad friend. By normalizing failure, a faux pas becomes an opportunity, not just an embarrassment.

Tip: Check out the Learning Network’s Student Question, When Have You Failed? What Did You Learn From It?.

After reading an excerpt from Kate Losse’s “The Art of Failing Upward,” join dozens of other students in the comments section in discussing the importance of failure and examining your own history of “failing upward.” Generally, do your peers seem to think failure is a benefit or obstruction to success?

Julia Huebner is also the author of a previous Reader Idea, Students Talk to Students About Drug and Alcohol Use