--- description: See a cute picture of Viola Davis' daughter dressed as Wonder Woman and find out how climate change hurts women after the Paris climate deal title: This Week in Motto: Do You Feel Like a Fraud? image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9a03fe411f1e918/6988cff9e76ad2ee1e62db8f/impostor-syndrome-work.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [motto](/tag/motto/) ## motto Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Week in Motto: Do You Feel Like a Fraud?  by [Claire Howorth](/author/claire-howorth/)  ## Claire Howorth Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2017 6:49 PM CUT  Caiaimage/Paul Bradbury—Getty Images/Caiaimage  by [Claire Howorth](/author/claire-howorth/)  ## Claire Howorth Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2017 6:49 PM CUT 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_](https://www.amazon.com/Mindshift-Obstacles-Learning-Discover-Potential/dp/1101982853/?tag=mottocom-20 "undefined"), who wrote this week for Motto about how she turned [impostor syndrome into her “career superpower.”](http://motto.time.com/4795826/impostor-syndrome-career-benefits/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") 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 [Claire.Howorth@time.com](mailto:Claire.Howorth@time.com "undefined") ### **1)** [**Your Orgasms Get Better As You Age**](http://motto.time.com/4799366/best-age-female-orgasm/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") According to a new survey ### **2)** [**How Climate Change Specifically Harms Women**](http://motto.time.com/4799747/climate-change-women-paris-climate-deal/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") After President Trump withdrew from the Paris climate deal ### **3)** [**When You Should Take a Mental Health Day**](http://motto.time.com/4801218/when-to-take-mental-health-day/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") According to a psychologist ### **4)** [**The U.S. Laws That Allow Underage Girls to Get Married**](http://motto.time.com/4800353/teen-marriage-why-underage-girls-are-allowed-to-marry/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") 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**](http://motto.time.com/4803063/viola-davis-daughter-wonder-woman/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") ‘We’re ready’ ### **6)** [**Why You Shouldn’t Take Your Kids to New Places**](http://motto.time.com/4798306/best-places-travel-with-kids/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") According to a child psychologist ### **7)** [**I Refused to Be Exclusive Until He Proposed**](http://motto.time.com/4795013/date-multiple-people-at-once/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") Why one woman didn’t want to be anyone’s girlfriend ### **8)** [**Matt McGorry Wants Other Male Feminists to Avoid His Mistakes**](http://motto.time.com/4780362/matt-mcgorry-male-feminists-advice/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") The actor says he realizes he needs to help men, not women, be better advocates ### **9)** [**I Hate What My Wedding Did to Me**](http://motto.time.com/4799598/problem-with-weddings/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") ‘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**](http://motto.time.com/4802032/hillary-clinton-election-blame-male-candidates/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") Hillary Clinton has been taking criticism for who deserves how much blame for her loss ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4803637/viola-davis-wonder-woman-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4803637/viola-davis-wonder-woman-climate-change/"},"headline":"This Week in Motto: Do You Feel Like a Fraud?","datePublished":"2017-06-02T18:49:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:05:42.318Z","description":"Impostor syndrome","url":"https://time.com/4803637/viola-davis-wonder-woman-climate-change/","keywords":["motto","News"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9a03fe411f1e918/6988cff9e76ad2ee1e62db8f/impostor-syndrome-work.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Claire Howorth","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/claire-howorth/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9a03fe411f1e918/6988cff9e76ad2ee1e62db8f/impostor-syndrome-work.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Stressed businesswoman with head in hands at office desk","caption":"Stressed businesswoman with head in hands at office desk","creditText":"Caiaimage/Paul Bradbury—Getty Images/Caiaimage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4803637/viola-davis-wonder-woman-climate-change/","name":"This Week in Motto: Do You Feel Like a Fraud?"}}]}] ```