Do you ever feel like you’re not really competent, but everyone else is?  Do you sometimes feel like you’re acting as if you belong, but you don’t.  Figure that it won’t be long until you’re found out?  When others praise your work or compliment you, do you doubt their sincerity or feel like the recognition is undeserved?  Well, here’s a news flash:  that makes you like a lot of other people.

Dr. Valerie Young calls it the Impostor Syndrome.  According to Dr. Young, if you’re one of the first or among the few women or minorities in your field or work place, it’s natural to sometimes feel like you don’t totally fit in.

Here are several things you can do to confront and shift insidious self-doubt:

• Practice being confident.  Say to yourself, “I believe in my ability to learn what I need to know, solve problems, find the right resources when I need them, and live my life on my terms.”   Your thoughts shape how you think about yourself.  Choosing to think positively about your own ability allows you to control the your self-image.
• Do a reality check and test your assumption about what you fear you lack, don’t know or can’t do.  Ask someone you trust for feedback.
• Develop your personal power and presence by better understanding who you truly are beneath the labels you’ve picked up along your journey.
• Check out Dr. Valerie Young’s 10 Ways to Stop Feeling Like A Fraud.

End self-sabotaging thoughts and unleash your true potential.  Pick up a copy of my book, “LIES That Limit: Uncover the Truth of Who You Really Are.”  Available on Amazon for only $5.95 for your Kindle or other e-reader.  Just $11.96 for hard copies.