4 Ways to Overcome Imposter Syndrome

I always hear the term: ‘Fake it until you make it’. And I’m thinking ok, sounds easy I guess, but I’m never sure how faking anything will stop making me feel like an imposter. When I was just out of high school, I fell in love with yoga. Becoming a yoga instructor quickly became my life’s dream. I had such an image of what that would look like. I would be in perfect shape, and a complete expert on everything yoga related. I had built it up so much in my head, it took me 5 years to finally earn my yoga teaching certificate.

When it came time to start practice teaching, I was shaking and actually frozen in fear. My first teaching experience, I was assisting a practiced instructor. There was a woman I was trying to help, I was so nervous I was having a hard time helping her into a pose. Finally, she snapped at me and said: “Will you just tell me what you want me to do?!” I of course quietly responded “Nothing you’re doing great” and walked away. I plastered a fake smile through the duration of the class, then after class went to my car and cried. I felt like a total failure.

I had a choice, I could try and conquer my fear, or quit. I had already moved my family across the country, and spent all our savings on this teacher program, quitting just wasn’t an option. I opted to literally fake my confidence, and you know what it worked! I literally pretended like I was a confident, professional yoga instructor. People believed me and treated me like one. After a while, I believed it too and grew to love teaching.

Here are some helpful tips:

Stand up straight

To appear confident, stand and sit tall. To correct your posture, slightly tuck your chin, raise the crown of your head up higher, and roll your shoulders up and back. When I started doing this, I immediately noticed a change in how people approached me. All of a sudden students and teachers alike began talking to me more, and I felt more welcome. Being approachable and comfortable in social situations is a sign that you are confident with who you are. People really notice.

Mimic Good Leaders

See someone doing what you want to do? Pay attention and learn from them. There was a yoga instructor that I really loved her teaching style. I would observe her classes and really watch how she taught. When I first began teaching, I modeled my voice and classes after her. I eventually went on to create my own teaching style, but she was a major influence in its development.

Surround Yourself with Positive People

This is most important. Spending time with people who believe you can do it, eventually convinces you that you really can. Bonus: spending time with positive people who are already doing what you want to do, makes achieving what you want so natural it feels less like a challenge and more like an inevitability.

What to Avoid

Lying about your qualifications. When I first began teaching, I had been studying and practicing yoga for 5 years and had earned my certification at one of the most renowned schools in the country. I really was qualified, I just lacked confidence in my abilities. Embellishing or lying about your qualifications will eventually get you into trouble. It’s much easier to build trust slowly by being honest when you do not have all the answers, rather than giving wrong answers and losing their trust all together.