Anxiety and Imposter Syndrome – two of our greatest enemies. I come across these things quite often, both within myself and my clients. Many of us, if not all, experience these things at some point in our lives. These self-inflicted wounds can hold us back and keep us from achieving, or even trying for, our dreams and goals. We often criticize ourselves worse than anyone else will, and worse than we would do to anyone else. Why is that?

Anxiety is an ancient instinct meant to help us survive. What was that noise? It could be a predator stalking me! In today’s modern society where we live among creature comforts, and have less need to hunt for every meal or protect our family from wild beasts, anxiety is mostly an unnecessary instinct that we have outgrown. 

However, it has adapted itself into our modern lives. Now we see it in the form of worry. What if my boss hates my completed project? What if they laugh at me and I’m completely humiliated? What if I have cancer? Even with the larger issues, such as cancer, how does worry help? How does it heal? Answer: It doesn’t. We worry about anything and everything – things we can’t control. Worrying doesn’t do us any good, and yet we continue to worry anyway. Why?

Because our brains are wired that way. Anxiety is a monster who thrives on telling us the negative “what ifs.” What if I fail? It’s an outdated survival instinct. Now that we don’t need to worry about the beastly predator stalking us as we hunt smaller game, it’s time for an update. It’s our job to rewire our brains to acknowledge the positive “what ifs.” What if I succeed? 

Spouting from anxiety is its cousin – Imposter Syndrome. I’m not really as good as they think I am. I don’t belong here and they’re going to find out. I’ll never fit in or achieve success because I don’t deserve it. You don’t have to have low self-esteem to feel this at some point in your life. It’s much more common than we realize. Often occurring at the beginning of something new in the form of self-doubt, it rears its ugly head with the start of a new job or promotion, admission to a college, trying to publish your first book, etc. You’ve jumped over the first hurdle, but now you have to keep it up and continually strive to hold your place. Maybe I got here out of sheer luck. Maybe I’m not good enough to be here. 

But you are! Remind yourself of that. As many times as your anxiety monster tells you that you don’t belong or that you will fail, stand your ground, find your voice, and scream back, “I deserve to be here! I deserve to have happiness and success!” Then yell it one more time for good measure. 

If you want something strongly enough, you can achieve it. It may take time and perseverance to reach your end-goal, but if you stick with it, you will reach your destination. Instead of sitting idle on the sidelines, worrying about all the negative possibilities and not progressing, go and enjoy your life. Create a positive growth mindset.

And yes, you do belong. You do deserve this. You are good enough.

Note: Anxiety can be a much larger issue for some – I have experienced this personally. If you feel like your anxiety has grown out of control, consider seeking a therapist to get to the root of the problem and find healing. I also recommend Barry McDonagh’s book Dare, in which he explains a unique approach to fighting back against anxiety.