What Is Impostor Syndrome And Can It Affect My Finances?

You get an acceptance letter from your “reach” college. You land your dream job.Your annual review is glowing. You ace a challenging certification exam. You get a promotion at work. Your small business is thriving.

These are all examples of times when you should feel excitement and pride for your hard work, dedication, and accomplishments. But you might not feel that way.

Many people, perhaps you included, really struggle with success.

Why? Let’s take a look at “impostor syndrome” (also known as imposter phenomenon, IP, and impostorism) — the term used by researchers to describe this struggle over 40 years ago — for answers, including what to do about it.

What is Impostor Syndrome?

Rather than feeling you’ve earned a significant achievement and accepting compliments or congratulations from others, you get anxious about the positive result.

You might even question how it happened, wonder if a mistake was made, or dismiss your abilities.

You may think it’s odd for you or others to feel that way when we should be happy about our performance. But research has shown approximately 7 in 10 people experience these feelings at some point in their lives.