Telltale signs of imposter syndrome in a successful entrepreneur

Imposter syndrome not only affects many rich and famous people, but also successful entrepreneurs. Though they are considered as successful in our eyes, a person afflicted by imposter syndrome has an intense fear that they will turn out as a fake person masked by undeserved successes. Here are the telltale signs of imposter syndrome in a successful entrepreneur.

Firstly, they think that their entrepreneurship skills are nothing and that virtually everyone can do it. In other words, they devalue their abilities and don't acknowledge that they are gifted with entrepreneurial skills in the first place. In reality, not everyone can be a successful entrepreneur, but they may believe that even a monkey can do it!

Often they are self-critical. As an entrepreneur, they tend to make mistakes, and their decisions will directly affect their revenue. Therefore, to avoid any mistakes, they set unrealistic expectations of themselves and always compare themselves to others. They forget that no one is perfect.

They tend to focus on one thing that is wrong about themselves and neglecting their advantages. For example, they may have excellent digital marketing skills but lack copywriting skills. They can always improve or outsource the skills they lack, but instead, they will beat themselves up about their incompetence.

Finally, they believe that what they are doing is not enough for their business, regardless of how successful the company is. Commonly, overachievers tend to push themselves to extremes – the same applies to entrepreneurs with impostor syndrome. They will never be satisfied with the state of their business, no matter how successful it is.

In essence, imposter syndrome is a mental health issue that can affect overachievers. Despite their intelligence, hard work, talent, or perseverance, they will label their successes based on pure luck or great timing. It is always best to practice positive thinking habits, believe that yourself is enough, and stop being too hard on yourself; you are a successful entrepreneur after all.