![]() ![]() Take, for example, a pretty common experience, the job performance review. Other times, we assign meaning to something that isn’t totally grounded in the actual facts of the situation. ![]() This process works well most of the time, but sometimes, we focus on less important bits of information, filtering out the more relevant parts. It does this by focusing on certain aspects of a situation and then assigning some kind of meaning to those aspects, resulting in our thoughts and opinions about things. The brain is pretty good at filtering what it deems to be unimportant information and focusing on what seems to be most salient. Most thoughts enter and leave our minds out of our awareness. Thankfully, that’s not how our brain works. If we were to attend to each one of these, we would be overwhelmed by the flood of information. Our minds are thought-processing machines, creating and sifting through as many as 60,000 ideas in a given day. Often, we are completely unaware we are even having thoughts, but with a little instruction and practice, you can learn to easily identify them, and, as a result, get a better handle on your mood and behavior. In this book, we’ll be referring to a specific kind of thoughts that we call “automatic thoughts.” Automatic thoughts are the thoughts that automatically arise in our minds all throughout the day. Thoughts influence much of our experience of the world, including our emotional experience. The key to understanding feelings is identifying the thoughts associated with them. Sometimes, we feel an emotion seemingly out of the blue, too strongly for what’s going on, or in a way that doesn’t seem to fit the situation at all. Some feelings may seem predictable in certain situations, but others may be puzzling. If you’re working through this book in order, you’ve been spending some time identifying and thinking about feelings. “They can still have an impostor moment, but not an impostor life.Part 5: Identifying Automatic Thoughts in CBT What Are Automatic Thoughts? The goal for me is to give the tools and the insight and information to talk themselves down faster,” she says. “The goal is not to never feel like an impostor. The important part is not to let that doubt control your actions, says Young. Most people experience moments of doubt, and that’s normal. If you want to delve more deeply into these feelings, Ervin recommends seeking out a professional psychologist. People who have more experience can reassure you that what you’re feeling is normal, and knowing others have been in your position can make it seem less scary. It can also be helpful to share what you’re feeling with trusted friends or mentors. “It’s very good news, because it means we just have to learn to think like non-impostors.” Learning to value constructive criticism, understanding that you’re actually slowing your team down when you don’t ask for help, or remembering that the more you practice a skill, the better you will get at it can all help. “People who don’t feel like impostors are no more intelligent or competent or capable than the rest of us,” Young says. Young says she reminds people that the only difference between someone who experiences impostor syndrome and someone who does not is how they respond to challenges. I encourage clients to ask ‘Does that thought help or hinder me?’” “We can help teach people to let go and more critically question those thoughts. “Simply observing that thought as opposed to engaging it” can be helpful, says Ervin. One of the first steps to overcoming impostor feelings is to acknowledge the thoughts and put them in perspective. This is especially true “whenever you belong to a group for whom there are stereotypes about competence,” Young adds, including racial or ethnic minorities, women in STEM fields or even international students at American universities. And conversely, the fewer people who look or sound like you, it can and does for many people impact their confidence.” “The more people who look or sound like you, the more confident you feel. ![]() “A sense of belonging fosters confidence,” says Young. “It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.”įactors outside of a person, such as their environment or institutionalized discrimination, can also play a major role in spurring impostor feelings. “People often internalize these ideas: that in order to be loved or be lovable, ‘I need to achieve,’” says Ervin. 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. Some experts believe it has to do with personality traits-like anxiety or neuroticism-while others focus on family or behavioral causes, Ervin explains. ![]()
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