The Impostor Syndrome Antidote
How to Conquer Your Self-Doubts and Unlock Your Potential
Hi, I'm Manuel Saez, 2x Founder, Award-Winning Designer, and Emotional Intelligence Coach 🌻 Here I Share the advice I wish I had while building my businesses ➜ I love fixing old motorcycles 🛵🏍️
Reading time: 7 min.
Contents:
The Real Reason You Feel Like an Impostor
Seeing the Pattern: How Impostor Syndrome Shows Up
Five Thought Patterns That Fuel Self-Doubt
Three Steps to Take Back Control
Helping Others Navigate Impostor Syndrome
You Doubts Do Not Define You
I’m starting something new—a challenge that’s been calling me for a while.
I’m excited about the future, but in moments like this, the doubter in my head goes into overdrive.
It whispers:
You don’t belong.
You’re not qualified for this.
They’ll find out you’re not good enough.
This isn’t the first time I’ve felt it.
The pattern is familiar now: the initial spark of excitement that comes with starting something new.
The rush of imagining the future, creating something beautiful, helping others, and working with incredible people is the light that brings joy to my life.
And then, like a shadow, the fear follows:
What if I fail?
Am I good enough for this?
What will they say if I don’t succeed?
I can almost hear it now: “I told you so…”
The list of reasons not to do it is long, but here’s the thing:
Those voices of doubt aren’t proof you’re not ready. They’re proof you’re trying something brave.
Here’s what I know now.
Doubts aren’t barriers—they’re beacons.
Doubts are signals that you’re on the edge of growth.
It’s taken practice, but I’ve learned to spot the thinking pattern, reframe the fear, and use the doubt as fuel.
Let’s unpack impostor syndrome—what it is, why it shows up, and how to stop it from dimming your light or holding you back from your full potential.
The Real Reason You Feel Like an Impostor
Impostor syndrome doesn’t show up because you’re unqualified or out of your depth. It’s there because you care.
The impostor in your head is louder in moments of growth—when you’re stretching yourself, moving toward something that matters, when you are in new territory pushing yourself into the unknown.
It’s your brain’s way of trying to keep you safe from failure or judgment.
The intentions are good. It wants to shield you from discomfort, but in doing so, it’s also keeping you from growing and becoming all you can be.
Here’s the paradox:
The very presence of self-doubting thoughts is a sign you’re on the right track.
If you weren’t pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, if you weren’t pursuing something worthwhile, that inner critic would have nothing to say.
Recognizing this doesn’t mean the doubts disappear, but it allows you to make peace with their presence—accept their existence and move forward anyway.
In fact, I’ve written more about the value of embracing self-doubt in this essay, where I explore how these thoughts can actually fuel personal growth.
When you recognize it for what it is—a protective instinct, not a verdict—it loses its grip.
You can observe it working and let it be, because you know it’s just a sign on the road—a guide, not a barrier—to keep you from moving forward.
Seeing the Pattern: How Impostor Syndrome Shows Up
For me, impostor syndrome always follows the same script:
The Excitement: A new opportunity lights me up. I feel energized, imagining all the ways it could go right.
The Fear: Almost immediately, the doubts start creeping in. “What if I’m not good enough? What if I mess this up?”
The Reflection: Over time, I’ve learned to step back and ask, “Is this fear a warning, or just a reaction to being outside my comfort zone?”
Recognizing this cycle is like seeing your reflection in the mirror for the first time—it’s a moment of clarity that helps you understand yourself better.
While this awareness doesn’t make the fear disappear, it gives you the tools to manage it more effectively and keep moving forward.
Five Thought Patterns That Fuel Self-Doubt
Impostor syndrome often takes the same forms, though it shows up slightly differently for everyone.
Here are five common thought patterns to help you identify the impostor:
Attributing Success to Luck or Timing
Example: When my company hit a major milestone, I told myself, “It wasn’t me—it was just good timing and the right circumstances.”
Pattern: You undermine your accomplishments by attributing them to external factors like luck, timing, or the efforts of others, instead of recognizing your role.
Feeling Like You Don’t Deserve Recognition
Example: After receiving an award for your work, you think, “They must have made a mistake. Someone else deserved this more than I do.”
Pattern: You internalize the belief that you’ve fooled others into thinking you’re competent and that any moment now, you’ll be “found out.”
Comparing Yourself to Others
Example: Watching a colleague handle a high-stakes project, you think, “They’re so confident and capable—I could never measure up to that.”
Pattern: You highlight others’ strengths and achievements while ignoring your own, fueling the narrative that you’re falling short.
Dismissing Achievements as Undeserved
Example: Completing a challenging project, you tell yourself, “It wasn’t that hard, and anyone could’ve done it.”
Pattern: You discount your successes by minimizing the effort, skill, or resilience it took to achieve them, leaving little room for pride or satisfaction.
Focusing on What You Don’t Know
Example: Starting a leadership role, you think, “I have no idea what I’m doing. Everyone else is so much more prepared than I am.”
Pattern: Instead of acknowledging your expertise or potential, you obsess over gaps in your knowledge, convincing yourself you’re not qualified.
By understanding these patterns, you can start to catch yourself in the moment.
The goal isn’t to silence these thoughts entirely but to recognize them for what they are—temporary feelings, not facts.
Three Steps to Take Back Control
If impostor syndrome has ever held you back, I get it. I’ve been there, stuck in that loop of second-guessing everything I do.
But here’s what I’ve learned—you can break the cycle.
These steps can help you take control and move forward with confidence:
Step 1: Reframe Doubts as Feedback
Treat your self-doubts as clues, not facts. What are they trying to tell you? Maybe you’re feeling unprepared, or perhaps the doubts are simply a signal that you’re stepping into new and unfamiliar territory. Either way, don’t let them define your worth.
I like to think of self-doubting thoughts as data points in a larger dataset. You wouldn’t base an important decision on a single data point; you’d gather more evidence to see the full picture.
Approach your doubts the same way: ask yourself if there’s other information to support or contradict them. Often, you’ll find the doubts are just noise—not the truth.
Step 2: Separate the Doubter from the Doer
The doubter is only one part of you—it’s not the whole story.
I’ve found it helpful to personify that inner critic and give it a name. Mine is “Pedro,” an amalgamation of voices from the past: teachers, colleagues, or even old fears.
When Pedro shows up, I acknowledge him: “Thanks for your input, Pedro. I know you’re trying to protect me, but I’ve got this.”
Here’s the trick: ignoring the voice in your head doesn’t make it go away. In fact, it tends to get louder.
Instead, take note of it, accept the message without judgment, and then refocus on your goals.
By doing this, you take away its power and remind yourself that you’re more than the sum of your doubts.
Step 3: Lean on Your Wins
When doubt creeps in, it has a sneaky way of dimming the light of past successes.
It makes you forget everything you’ve already accomplished, convincing you those wins were flukes or unimportant.
To counteract this, I consciously give my past wins extra weight when I’m feeling uncertain. It’s like adjusting a scale to balance the heavy load of self-doubt.
Think of it as a handicap in golf, where your previous successes help level the playing field against your current challenges.
Here’s how it works: I revisit moments when I overcame something difficult—times when I doubted myself but succeeded anyway.
These memories are proof that I’m capable, resilient, and ready for whatever’s next. Let them remind you that you’ve done hard things before, and you can do them again.
Helping Others Navigate Impostor Syndrome
As a coach, I’ve seen how universal impostor syndrome really is.
Even the most accomplished people—the ones you’d assume have it all figured out—question their abilities.
When I help my clients overcome impostor syndrome we do it in three steps:
➜ The first step is always awareness.
We look at the patterns: How does your inner dialogue show up? How does it shape the way you act—or hold you back?
The truth is, what happens in your head often becomes your reality.
When you recognize that, you can start to loosen the grip those thoughts have on you.
➜ Next, we focus on managing those thoughts.
This isn’t about silencing them; it’s about reframing them. Doubts don’t disappear overnight, but when you understand their triggers and patterns, you can respond to them more calmly and intentionally.
Over time, this shift allows you to see self-doubt not as an enemy, but as a tool for growth and preparation.
➜ Finally, the real game-changer is getting proactive.
Once you know your patterns, you can make preemptive moves—whether it’s preparing for self-doubt before stepping into a new role or creating a system to revisit your past wins when the doubts creep in.
It’s not about avoiding challenges; it’s about building tools to navigate them better.
Here’s the thing: it’s always easier to see these patterns in someone else than in yourself.
That’s why having support—a coach, a trusted friend, or a mentor—can make all the difference. They can help you spot what you might miss and remind you of your strengths when you need it most.
You Doubts Do Not Define You
The next time impostor syndrome speaks up, don’t take it as proof that you don’t belong, that you’re not capable, or that something is wrong with you.
Instead, see it for what it really is: a sign you’re stepping into growth and pursuing something that matters.
Those doubts aren’t there to stop you—they’re there to remind you how much you care.
Let them guide you, not gatekeep you. Use them as markers of where to lean in, where to prepare, and where to trust yourself.
If this resonates, I’d love to hear your story—I believe we all have something to learn from each other.
Sending you good vibes 🌻
Manuel Saez
Another great post! This is 100% me = Pattern: You highlight others’ strengths and achievements while ignoring your own, fueling the narrative that you’re falling short.
I think I felt unworthiness far before I even felt impostor syndrome, but I think the two speak together in my mind. This was a lot of great insight for me, thank you!
My two are comparing myself to others and focusing on what I Don’t know. Right now I find myself wishing I could play guitar better and knowing I can’t harmonize a vocal part. The person I am collaborating with right now, who is a long time seasoned musician, will not want to once they realize I’m not good enough. I dove into figuring out how to harmonize. It is a learnable skill and I can do it. I hope it doesn’t take too long. Told myself I play guitar good enough.