Impostor syndrome. Ick. You’ve likely suffered from it: that feeling that you’re a fraud, not up to the task, less able or talented than your peers — even when you are up to the task, totally able and supremely, uniquely talented. A lot of smart, accomplished women know the feeling, such as Barbara Oakley, a scholar and the author of Mindshift, who wrote this week for Motto about how she turned impostor syndrome into her “career superpower.”
Rather than let the syndrome simmer, she used that negative sensation to drive her to learn, to absorb, as much as possible. It’s a more substantive version of the “Fake it til you make it” method. I’m going to bookmark Barbara’s essay for when I feel my own syndrome relapse.
What about you? Ever struggled with impostor syndrome? How did you cope?
Happy Friday to all the real deals out there,
Claire
1) Your Orgasms Get Better As You Age
According to a new survey
2) How Climate Change Specifically Harms Women
After President Trump withdrew from the Paris climate deal
3) When You Should Take a Mental Health Day
According to a psychologist
4) The U.S. Laws That Allow Underage Girls to Get Married
Nearly every state allows at least some people under 18 to wed
5) Viola Davis Shares Empowering and Adorable Photo of Daughter Dressed as Wonder Woman
‘We’re ready’
6) Why You Shouldn’t Take Your Kids to New Places
According to a child psychologist
7) I Refused to Be Exclusive Until He Proposed
Why one woman didn’t want to be anyone’s girlfriend
8) Matt McGorry Wants Other Male Feminists to Avoid His Mistakes
The actor says he realizes he needs to help men, not women, be better advocates
9) I Hate What My Wedding Did to Me
‘We spend the special time leading up to marriage acting like event planners’
10) Breaking: The Men Who Lost a Presidential Election Didn’t Take Full Blame, Either
Hillary Clinton has been taking criticism for who deserves how much blame for her loss
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Why Trump’s Message Worked on Latino Men
- What Trump’s Win Could Mean for Housing
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Sleep Doctors Share the 1 Tip That’s Changed Their Lives
- Column: Let’s Bring Back Romance
- What It’s Like to Have Long COVID As a Kid
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Contact us at letters@time.com