Author of How to be Sort of Happy in Law School Offers Seven Ways to Beat Imposter Syndrome
I have something in common with Kristen Bell, Maya Angelou, Tom Hanks, and Sonia Sotomayor. Or perhaps I should say, I have someone in common. He sits on our shoulder and whispers little insults: “You are so clueless.” “Everyone can tell you’re out of place.” His name is Imposter Syndrome, and he’s a real bully.
He hung out with me every day when I was a law student. I couldn’t speak in class or talk to a professor without his incessant yammering. And even now, he shows up: in faculty meetings, at conferences, or when I’m about to speak to a big group. “What are you even doing here?” he hisses. Writing about him in How to Be Sort of Happy in Law School was a little helpful, actually—it turns out, he hates the spotlight.