Imposter syndrome journal prompts
Imposter syndrome journal prompts help when you feel like a fraud despite clear evidence that you aren't one. They catch the moment the feeling starts, divide the credit for a success fairly, and check whether the setting is feeding it. The page on imposter syndrome explains the idea itself.
How to use these. Write the first group the day the feeling hits, and the rest that week. Answer with facts: dates, numbers, names, the words people used.
When it hits
A new role, a promotion, praise in front of other people. Write it down while it's fresh.
What just happened that set off the "I don't belong here" feeling?
Answer this with JoySplit the credit
The women Clance and Imes described put their success down to luck, or to other people misjudging them.1 Give luck its share here, and give yourself yours.
Pick one recent success. Out of 100 points, how much goes to luck, to help from others, to effort and to skill?
Answer this with JoyWhich specific choices of mine made a difference in how it turned out?
Answer this with JoyTest the verdict
The feeling is real. The conclusion, that you've fooled everyone, is a claim you can check.
What evidence would I expect to see if I were a fraud, and do I see it?
Answer this with JoyWho hired, promoted or praised me, and what would they have to be wrong about for my thought to be true?
Answer this with JoyWhat's something I don't know yet that I'm treating as proof I'm not good enough?
Answer this with JoyLook at the room
Being the only one like you in a room, or rarely hearing what you do well, can feed the feeling. Count what's around you.
How many people here share my background, age, gender or path, and how does that affect how I feel?
Answer this with JoyWhat would make this place feel more like somewhere I belong, and who could I ask about it?
Answer this with JoyTell one peer
Kept private, it feels like yours alone.
Which peer could I tell about this feeling, and what would I say in one sentence?
Answer this with JoyRereading this entry, what's the more accurate sentence about me: ___?
Answer this with JoyFrom a 1978 paper to 62 studies
Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes named the idea in 1978, writing about high-achieving women who believed they weren't intelligent and had fooled everyone around them.1
It isn't limited to them. A systematic review of 62 studies with 14,161 participants found it in men and women, from teenagers to late-career professionals.2 Reported rates ran from 9% to 82%, mostly depending on how it was measured, and were especially high among ethnic minority groups.2
The same review found no published study testing a treatment for it.2 These prompts are a practice, then. They borrow ordinary journaling moves in the order the groups run: catch the trigger, write the thought word for word, rate it, split the credit, test it against what people have said and done, and rate it again.
Why the room gets its own group
Every other group on this page is about you. The "look at the room" group comes from a 2020 paper arguing that research has treated imposter feelings too much as a problem inside individuals.3 Its authors point to the environment, especially for people from groups that are underrepresented where they work or study.3
Sometimes the fix is in the room. A mentor. Regular feedback. One more person who shares your path.
Example entry: "Trigger: got asked to lead the Q3 review in front of the VP. Thought: they'll figure out I'm winging it. Belief: 80. Credit for the last launch: luck 15, help 30, effort 30, skill 25. A fair coworker would say skill 35. Not knowing yet: the forecasting model. That's new to me, and new isn't proof. Told Nadia. She said she felt the same her first year. Belief now: 45."
- "I just got lucky": Out of 100 points, how much was luck, help, effort and skill?
- "They'll find out": What would they have to be wrong about for that to be true?
- "Everyone else knows what they're doing": Who could I ask whether they've felt this too?
If it's tangled with anxiety or low mood
Imposter syndrome isn't a medical condition, though it often travels with anxiety and depression.2 If the feeling keeps you from applying for things, sleeping or enjoying your work, or comes with low mood most days, it's worth getting help with more than the feeling. The journal prompts for anxiety are a place to start.
Questions people ask about journaling for imposter syndrome
How long does it take to feel less like an imposter?
There's no tested timeline, since no published study has tested a treatment.2 What you can track yourself is the 0 to 100 rating. Write it at the start and end of each entry. After a month, read them side by side.
Why do I feel like an imposter at a new job?
There's a lot you don't know yet. Not knowing is easy to mistake for not being good enough. Keep two lists: what you're still learning, and what you've already shown you can do.
Is imposter syndrome the same as low self-esteem?
They overlap but aren't the same. Low self-esteem is a low sense of your worth in general. Imposter feelings are a specific belief that your success is undeserved and you'll be found out, and they often show up in people doing well by any outside measure.1
Related
In the journaling section: confidence journal prompts and journal prompts for work. For the full background, read about imposter syndrome.