Over the past eighth years I have been shifting my personal interests from reading technical books to reading books on mental performance. Navy SEALs like to say their training is 10% physical and 90% mental and I think this holds true for a lot of endeavors in life. The security industry is inundated with training courses about how to penetration test, how to be an incident responder or how to become a CISO. However, if you want to strengthen your mind to handle the stress of a security role you have to leave the community and seek answers in other places like extreme sports, the military or even self help.
Mental Health is an extremely important aspect of career management that often gets overlooked or neglected. The security community is notorious for burnout because the issues we deal with on a daily basis have a sense of urgency or feel never ending. One important mental health issue that is particularly pervasive within the security community is Impostor Syndrome, which is when people who are otherwise talented or successful still feel as if they are a fraud.
I have personally experienced both burnout and impostor syndrome throughout my career and in my experience impostor syndrome is caused by a fundamental lack of belief in oneself. Therefore, in order to overcome impostor syndrome one must somehow boost their own confidence, which can be difficult because it is tough to self assess.
Understanding the problem
In order to overcome impostor syndrome it is important to first diagnose and understand the problem by asking the question:
What part of your life, career or skillset makes you feel like a fraud?
Perhaps you recently received a promotion, but haven’t received training or coaching to build the necessary skills in that role?
Or, maybe you have the skills, but you haven’t received feedback or validation that these are the right skills to have?
Maybe you are worried your skills are sub-par compared to other people you see at conferences or who you interact with regularly?
Whatever the issue, it is important to be honest with yourself about what makes you feel like a fraud. This is an important step because once you identify the issue you can build a plan to address the problem.
Develop A Balanced Approach
One of the most impactful books I’ve read on mental performance is called With Winning In Mind by Lanny Bassham. This book discusses different parts of the human psyche that need to be in balance in order to avoid psychological performance issues like Impostor Syndrome. With Winning In Mind discusses how to balance the Conscious mind, Sub-conscious mind and the Self Image to achieve balance of the psyche and ultimate performance.
In my opinion, Impostor Syndrome is caused by an imbalance in the Self-Image. The self image has not developed in line with the knowledge, career progression or skillsets possessed by an individual. As a result the individual lacks confidence in themselves and needs to spend time building up their self image to conquer impostor syndrome.
Building (Or Rebuilding) Your Self Image
Below are the steps I recommend you follow in order to overcome Impostor Syndrome. These steps require work and dedication, but if you commit and follow through it will be worth it in the end. The steps are as follows:
- Identify the skills or character traits in which you lack confidence. Write these down.
- Develop a plan to train or develop each area so you can begin to build confidence in that area.
- Create positive affirmations to reinforce your training and build your self image. Put these in prominent places (fridge, desk, mirror, car dashboard, etc.) that you see daily and repeat them to yourself whenever you see them.
- Record your progress in a journal and review regularly.
Example
- Identify skills – I feel like an impostor when I speak in public. “I want to be a better public speaker”
- Develop a plan – “I will practice public speaking for 15 minutes a day, while recording myself. I will review the recording each time and make a plan for the following day for how to improve.”
- Create Positive Affirmations – “It is like me to be a great public speaker”
- Record your progress
Wrapping Up
Impostor Syndrome is a common psychological performance issue, particularly in the security community and it is caused by fundamental lack of confidence in oneself. By honestly identifying where you lack confidence, you can develop a plan that will help you improve your self image and ultimately overcome the feeling that you are a fraud. If you suffer from impostor syndrome I encourage you to speak openly and honestly about it with a mentor, trusted colleague or mental health professional who can help you create a plan to overcome the issue because impostor syndrome can cause you to psychologically hold yourself back from truly achieving your fullest potential.
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