The infamous imposter syndrome is always perceived as a bad thing but if you ally with it you could become Best Friends Forever (aka BFF).

I am pretty sure that in my case the imposter syndrome has helped me to develop my abilities, especially in tech which is my “area of knowledge”.

Life is split into stages, some of those stages are better for your growth than others. There are times when you think you are the king of the world and that you already know everything you need to know but if you are lucky enough to pass through that phase you will realize that you didn’t have all the answers. In tech, this stage is common among other situations when you go out from the university knowing Java and you think that’s enough for earning the also infamous 6-figure-salary. It isn’t new either, it’s called the “Dunning-Kruger effect”; from Wikipedia:

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias whereby people with low ability, expertise, or experience regarding a certain type of a task or area of knowledge tend to overestimate their ability or knowledge. Some researchers also include in their definition the opposite effect for high performers: their tendency to underestimate their skills.

That’s good news for you, if you have reached a state where imposter syndrome is hitting after you thought you were the king it might mean that you are on the curve to the top after the “Valley of Despair”; also from Wikipedia:

Dunning Kruger Effect graph, from wikipedia

Now that you are not the person that knows more about the subject being discussed in the room and you have two options here:

  1. Let imposter syndrome bring you down OR
  2. Leverage imposter syndrome in order to become better at the matter at hand.

If you decide to go for option #2 you have a huge advantage: you already know that there are things you don’t know and you are in a room full of people that can help you get better at it. Use this opportunity!

I felt/feel like that several times but I prefer to take it as an opportunity to ask questions & learn. Knowing that you are not there yet can be fuel to get you to where you want to be in the future or can just bring you down and depress you.

Believe it or not, everybody was there at some point. You have two options here, either you use imposter syndrome as a catapult to success or you don’t. It’s up to you and if you decide not to do it that’s also fine, but I know what I would choose.