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Darrin Lee Hutton's avatar

oh lordy the never ending cycle... hang in there Bob!

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Jeffrey Leavitt's avatar

We’ve all been there. But it is possible to learn to cope and push through.

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Sahil Dua's avatar

Is it? How?

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Jeffrey Leavitt's avatar

There are various tasks that can be used to help. Task effectiveness will vary from person to person.

For me, I have found a combination of these tasks work well:

1. Talking it out:

-I have recorded my feelings in a journal.

-I have vocally spoken to myself out loud, recounting all that happened over the course of the previous hour, allowing me to target the exact moment the impostor syndrome set in. This then made me more aware of the type of situations that seem to bring it on. In the future, when I was in similar situations, I could now be aware of the triggers, helping me to better navigate and respond.

-I will speak with my wife about my feelings. I have even called up a trusted friend to talk things over.

2. Find an Ally:

-If you have someone in your organization that you trust and have psychological safety with, then being allies to each other can really help. He/she is having very similar situational experiences as you, and can more easily empathize. If you just left a work discussion feeling overwhelmed, or confused, you can reach out to this ally and ask honest and open questions about the situation. The ally may be able to provide context in a non-judgement way to help you understand better the situation.

3. Get a win:

-Sometimes you just need to regain confidence in your abilities, or get a hit of dopamine. I will take a break from what I am doing, and perform a task I enjoy and that I am good at. That could be a quick crossword puzzle, race on Mario Kart, game of Solitaire…the activity doesn’t really matter. So long as you can “get a win” under your belt.

These are just 3 suggestions. I hope that helped.

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Sahil Dua's avatar

Thank you so much dear. I will try one or more and will see how it works for me

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Clumber's avatar

Get those recording devices out of my mind!!!

In other words, I'm in this comic and don't like it. I once gave my resignation to my boss and she freaked out, refused it, gave me a raise, and asked what else she could do to keep me happy. Just like Bob here, I feared I'd just fooled her that much more and am a horrible human.

Brains can be serious jerks.

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Sahil Dua's avatar

But, won't that raise and appreciation built more pressure?

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Clumber's avatar

Yes.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

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Issa's avatar

Yep and yep.

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