Imposter Syndrome, Do You Feel a Fake?

Sometimes, in new situations, it’s really common to feel like you’re faking it.

You’ve done the work. You’ve passed the exams. You’ve got through the interview, you’ve got the job, even the qualifications to prove you’re competent. Yet there’s this persistent voice in your head whispering that you’re a fraud, that someone’s going to find out you don’t know what you’re doing, that you’ve somehow conned everyone into thinking you’re more capable than you really are.

Welcome to imposter syndrome. And join pretty much everyone who’s ever achieved anything worth achieving.

Bertrand Russell said it best when he noted that the trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. He wasn’t being cruel. He was being accurate. The people who actually know what they’re doing are the ones most aware of how much they don’t know. The incompetent overestimate their abilities; the competent underestimate theirs. That’s the Dunning-Kruger effect.

What Imposter Syndrome Actually Is

Imposter syndrome isn’t clinical. It’s not in the DSM-5. It’s a psychological phenomenon first identified by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978. They studied high-achieving women who, despite external evidence of their competence, couldn’t internalise their success. They attributed it to luck, timing, or fooling people rather than their own ability.

Turns out it’s not just women, and it’s not just high-achievers either, though they get it worse. It’s anyone doing something new, something challenging, something outside their established comfort zone. Which should be you, at the start of a new challenge that needs growth, new skills and a degree of learning.

The key feature of imposter syndrome isn’t just feeling that you’re faking it. There are other common traits too. Maybe you can’t accept your accomplishments. You brush off compliments. You downplay your successes. You attribute positive outcomes to external factors whilst internalising the negative ones. Someone praises your work? You put it down to beginner’s luck. Someone criticises it? Well, that’s proof you’re terrible.

Imposter syndrome is exhausting, and it’s bloody common. Estimates of how many people feel it at some point vary enormously depending on how it’s measured, ranging from under one in ten to more than four in five in some studies. In my profession, even the low end feels like an underestimate.

The Questions That Will Tell You If You’ve Got It

Let me ask you a few things.

Have you ever thought someone’s going to find you out? That moment when they discover you’re not as good as they think you are?

Do you look at colleagues and feel inferior, even when you’re doing the same job? Even when your results are just as good or better?

When someone compliments your work, do you immediately deflect it? “Oh, it was nothing.” “Anyone could have done it.” “I just got lucky.”

If you answered yes to any of these, congratulations. You’re not alone. You’re also probably competent and just filled with self-doubt.

Why Competent People Feel Like Frauds

Here’s the thing about imposter syndrome. It disproportionately affects people who are actually good at what they do. Incompetent people rarely worry they’re incompetent. They lack the meta-cognitive ability to recognise their own deficiencies.

But you? You know what expertise looks like. You can see the gap between where you are and where true mastery sits. You’re aware of your weaknesses. That awareness, that self-reflection, that nagging doubt? That’s not proof you’re a fraud. That’s proof you’re learning.

I’ve been a GP for 25 years. Before that I qualified as a surgeon, before that I passed my medical school exams, before that I passed the exams I needed at high enough grades to get into medical school in the first place. I’ve passed more exams than I care to count. I’ve spent sleepless nights during my training, worked gruelling hours, made decisions when lives hung in the balance. And there are still moments when I think, “I hope I’m getting this right.” That’s normal, even with experience. It’s humility, and I’d hope it’s competence recognising its own limitations.

The problem with imposter syndrome is when that healthy doubt morphs into paralysing self-sabotage. When you stop trying because you’re convinced you’ll fail. When you don’t apply for the promotion because you don’t think you’re ready, despite being qualified. The problem is when you downshift your ambitions because you can’t shake the feeling that you’re faking it.

That’s when doubt stops being useful and starts being destructive.

Feeling Like a Fraud Versus Being a Fraud

Let’s be crystal clear about something. Feeling like a fraud and being a fraud are not the same thing.

You’re not (I hope you’re not) lying on your CV. You’re not pretending to have qualifications you don’t possess. You’re not conning people. You’re learning. You’re growing. You’re operating at the edge of your competence, which is exactly where growth happens.

When you learn something new, you go through predictable stages, sometimes called the four stages of competence. Unconscious incompetence, when you don’t know what you don’t know. Conscious incompetence, when you realise how much you’ve got to learn. Conscious competence, when you can do it, but it requires effort and concentration. And finally, unconscious competence, when doing the job becomes automatic.

Imposter syndrome lives in that conscious competence phase. You can do it. You are doing it. But it feels clunky. It feels fake. Every step requires thought. You’re hyper-aware of the process, which makes it feel unnatural.

That’s not you faking it. That’s your brain laying down new neural pathways. That awkwardness you feel? That’s learning. Eventually, it becomes automatic. But not yet. And in the meantime, you feel like you’re pretending.

You’re not. You’re just not finished learning yet.

The Comparison Trap

You look at your colleagues. They seem confident. They seem competent. They make it look easy. And then you look at yourself, at all the internal chaos, the doubt, the second-guessing, and you think you’re the only one struggling.

You’re comparing their outside persona to your inside feelings of turmoil. That never works.

You can’t see their internal dialogue. You can’t see their fears, their doubts, their moments of panic. You only see the polished exterior. Meanwhile, you’re intimately acquainted with every wobble, every moment of uncertainty, every mistake you’ve ever made.

So you conclude they’re more competent than you. They’re not. They’re just better at hiding it. Peel back the bravado on most people and you’ll find the same doubts you’re carrying. They’re just less visible.

Competence Versus Perfection

People with imposter syndrome tend to be high achievers. They set high standards for themselves. Good. That drive is what got them where they are. But they make a crucial mistake. They confuse competence with perfection.

You did something well. Really well. But it wasn’t perfect. There were mistakes. Things you could have done better. And because it wasn’t perfect, you can’t accept that it was good.

Nobody’s perfect. Not you. Not your colleagues. Not the experts you admire. Nobody.

Competence isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being good enough, recognising your limitations, learning from your mistakes, and continuously improving. That’s a process, not a destination. You’ll never reach perfection. But you can keep getting better.

See perfection as the journey, not the arrival point. You’re not a fraud for not being perfect. You’re human.

Uncertainty Is Part of Growth

High achievers push themselves. They’re always learning, always taking on new challenges, always raising the bar. That’s what makes them high achievers.

But new things are hard. New things feel uncertain. New things make you feel like you’re out of your depth.

Because you are. That’s the point.

Growth requires uncertainty. If you’re not feeling a bit uncertain, a bit out of your depth, a bit like you’re faking it, you’re probably not pushing hard enough. Comfort is the enemy of progress. Uncertainty is where learning lives.

So if you feel like an imposter, good. It means you’re doing something that matters. It means you’re stretching yourself. It means you’re growing.

Stop Dismissing Compliments

Someone praises your work. What do you say?

“Oh, it was nothing.” “Anyone could have done it.” “I just got lucky.”

Stop. Just stop.

When you dismiss compliments, you’re not being modest. You’re robbing yourself of the psychological boost that comes from internalising success. You’re reinforcing the belief that your achievements don’t count. You’re feeding the imposter syndrome.

Internalising your successes, accepting compliments, and acknowledging your role in positive outcomes tends to improve wellbeing and reduce self-doubt. It’s not arrogance. It’s healthy self-esteem.

So next time someone compliments your work, try this. Smile. Say “thank you, that means a lot to me.” Then shut up.

Don’t deflect. Don’t minimise. Don’t dismiss. Just accept it.

You did the work. You got the result. You deserve the credit. Stop putting yourself down and start allowing yourself to feel good about your accomplishments.

The Luck Myth

“I just got lucky.”

No, you didn’t.

Unless you won the lottery, luck had very little to do with it. You did the work. You made the call. You sat the exam. You turned up. You put in the hours. You took the risk.

There’s cause and effect in everything. Even if timing played a role, you still had to be there, prepared, ready to seize the opportunity. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. And you did both.

Stop attributing your successes to luck. They’re yours. You earned them. Own them.

What to Do About It

Imposter syndrome doesn’t disappear. Even highly successful people experience it, and some do so chronically.

So what do you do?

First, recognise it. When that voice starts telling you you’re faking it, name it. “That’s imposter syndrome talking.” Labelling it takes some of its power away.

Second, remind yourself that feeling like a fraud and being a fraud are different. You’re not lying. You’re learning, you’re upskilling. The awkwardness, the uncertainty, the conscious effort? That’s normal. That’s how skill development works.

Third, accept compliments. Practise saying “thank you” without deflecting. Let yourself internalise your achievements. You’re not being arrogant. You’re being accurate.

Fourth, recognise that everyone feels this way sometimes. You’re not special. You’re not uniquely incompetent. You’re human. The people who look confident? They’re probably faking that bit too.

Fifth and finally, understand that uncertainty is a natural part of growth. If you’re not feeling a bit out of your depth, you’re not pushing yourself far enough. Embrace the discomfort. It means you’re learning, pushing yourself, and moving forwards too.

The Final Word

I’ve felt like a fraud for years. I’m a GP. I’m supposed to know everything about everything in ten-minute consultations. I don’t. Nobody does. But I show up, I do my best, I learn from my mistakes, reflect, move on, and somehow it works.

That’s not being a fraud. That’s being competent whilst acknowledging I don’t have all the answers. That’s healthy doubt.

If you’re doing something difficult, you’re stretching yourself, you’re learning, of course it feels uncomfortable. Of course you doubt yourself sometimes. That’s normal.

But don’t let that doubt stop you. Don’t downshift your ambitions. Don’t avoid challenges. Don’t dismiss your achievements.

You’re not faking it. You’re doing it. There’s a difference.

Now stop worrying about being found out and get on with being brilliant.

Further reading

• Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 15(3), 241-247.
• Dunning, D., & Kruger, J. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121-1134.
• Bravata, D. M., Watts, S. A., Keefer, A. L., et al. (2020). Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome: A systematic review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35(4), 1252-1275.
• Sakulku, J., & Alexander, J. (2011). The impostor phenomenon. International Journal of Behavioral Science, 6(1), 73-92.
• Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363-406.