How To Deal With Imposter Syndrome As a Young Designer

Tiffany Eaton
UX Planet
Published in
8 min readMay 31, 2019

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Published with Inside Design in 2019

Imposter syndrome seems to be a trendy term I see these days and it’s something that I go back and forth in-between, especially when I encounter new situations. I feel paralyzed but have been counteracting it with excitement and a sense of purpose and intention for every action I take (this has worked wonders for me and you should try it too). In my words, I see imposter syndrome as a dark stream of smoke that comes out of your belly button when you are attempting to overcome your fear (for anyone who watches Adventure Time, you know what I am talking about). It tells you that you can’t do something because you aren’t good enough, and that you won’t ever be able to do something because you simply can’t.

From Abigail Abhrams article, the reason why we may experience imposter syndrome is that experts believe it has to do with personality traits — like anxiety or neuroticism — while others focus on family or behavioral causes, Ervin explains. Sometimes childhood memories, such as feeling that your grades were never good enough for your parents or that your siblings outshone you in certain areas, can leave a lasting impact. “People often internalize these ideas: that in order to be loved or be lovable, ‘I need to achieve,’” says Ervin. “It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.”

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