How Self-Doubt Sabotaged My High-Flying Career

By Perminus Wainaina 

What is the biggest hindrance between you and your dream job?

We’re always looking for ways to advance in our careers and get to the top of our professions. We take short courses, grow our soft skills, network with managers and other professionals, all in a bid to climb the corporate ladder.

For Caroline, she always wanted to be the best in everything she did. From her time in school, to when she joined the job market, she always gave her best. However, she had an enemy pulling her away from success. An enemy stronger than any force –herself.

Caroline suffered from imposter syndrome, which greatly affected her life and career. I interviewed Caroline on her journey and struggle. Most importantly, I wanted to know how she overcame the condition and what you and I can learn from her experience.

What is Imposter Syndrome?

Before we start, I’d like to expound on imposter syndrome.

Have you ever had an accomplishment that you felt there was luck involved? While we mostly own the successes in life, there are situations where we feel there was luck or some external power involved.

For people suffering from imposter syndrome, this is what they feel about any achievement in their lives. They feel as though they had nothing to do with it, and it was just a lucky outcome. On top of this, people who suffer from the syndrome often feel like they are frauds, and will soon be discovered.

In most cases, someone with imposter syndrome will not know they suffer from the condition.

Here’s the interview with Caroline.

Read on for more on Caroline’s experience; How Self-Doubt Sabotaged My High-Flying Career.