Having doubts about yourself and your own expertise is second nature to most people, unless you have successfully conquered the beast that is self-doubt. But something that is common is not necessarily right or healthy, especially when it starts to blow out of proportion. If you feel that you are taking up someone else’s place, think that you are lying to people about who you are and what you are able to do and are only waiting for the moment your deceit will be uncovered, it seems that you have the Impostor Syndrome.
According to a recent report 80% of men experience Impostor Syndrome, while a bigger 90% of women suffer from this, unsurprisingly. Despite the syndrome being this widespread, only 25% are aware of this. What does it mean to us as teachers?
Low income
The rates teachers work at depend on many things - the average rate in their region, the skills and knowledge necessary for a specific request (exam preparation, business, ESP as a rule are priced higher than general English courses), but most importantly, the number can be purely subjective and is directly linked to how high the teacher values themself and their time. If you feel that you don’t have enough credentials, experience, confidence in the result, you will work at lower rates and will not earn as much as you could.
Low Job satisfaction
When we work hard we expect to be compensated from it accordingly, but a person’s inability to ask for more can lead not only to low income but also low job satisfaction. The feeling of wasted time, no growth and misery will prevail and as a result may even lead to burnout.
Missed opportunities
When you don’t know your worth you may feel reluctant to jump at opportunities that life throws at you. When you see a great job advert you may not reply to it thinking you won’t be hired. you will decline offers to present at a conference or take part in an interesting project. The things will eventually start piling up.
If you recognise yourself, don’t despair, there are ways you can improve your self-confidence, get rid of the impostor syndrome and start feeling better about yourself, life and your job.
How you can deal with it:
Make a list of all the things you have achieved over the time, all the events and projects you participated in, note down what exactly you did and were responsible for, what the end result was.
Try to count the number of students you have taught, what their final levels were, how far they progressed with you.
Collect reviews and feedback from your students, colleagues and management. The things other people say about you may surprise you and melt your heart.
Go to a therapy or coaching session
If you want to grow as a professional, feel happy about yourself and what you do, you need to allow yourself to accept your own achievements and give yourself due credit.
Have you ever had the impostor syndrome? What helped you get rid of it?
EXPERT OPINION
My name is Timofey. It took me several years to admit to myself that I am a professional teacher.
It’s been nearly ten years and the question ‘what am i doing here?’, when I walk into a
classroom, is still haunting me. I’m really glad it happens less often though. That’s why I’ve chosen this relatable topic. So, I gave it a google and gathered some useful tips and insights. It’ll make me happy to share it with anyone going through the same struggle and who wants to stop feeling like a fraud.
First of all, let’s see what this scarry word means. Impostor - a person who tries to pretend to be someone else in order to deceive others. It happens when I judge myself for not being competent enough on some level. According to my own standards and my own beliefs I end up seeing myself as a fraud. And what if other people can notice that too! What a nightmare.
There’s a task that needs to be done and that’s when worry and doubt come in. I’ve got to do this thing. But am I capable of doing this properly? You start to prepare to accomplish the task, but then you want to put it off. Then the whole process starts all over again. When it comes to an actual successful accomplishment you might question yourself whether it's due to an effort you’ve put in or it just happened to be a lucky day. And of course other colleagues of yours never seem to struggle. Because they can do it almost effortlessly and they’re simply better than you...That’s what an inner voice keeps saying to me. But the thing is that I don't know how to value the work I am doing. And this feeling of inferiority can block you from becoming better. Because you’re simply never good enough! Unless you stop doubting your skills, talent and experience.
Here’re three tips that helped me to feel a little bit better about myself.
Doubt your own doubt
It helps to stay away from self-judgments and to be more open. Especially when you are told that you did a pretty good job! Try to accept it without asking yourself if it’s really real.
Expose yourself
do not be afraid of being a new teacher or a teacher without an IELTS 999.999 score. Just try to be honest with yourself where you are at given this particular moment. What’s really going to happen to you if you make a mistake? To make a fool of yourself in front of other people seems like a catastrophe. But do they really care as much about it as you do?
Let it happen
To achieve an ‘okayness’ with being wrong sometimes or not being
overqualified. These ‘what ifs’ can destroy the whole process and cause lots of damage.
But what if you’re more powerful than you think?
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That’s all for now!
Stay amazing❤️