Do you remember that scene in E.T. when he (E.T., that is) shuffles out of a closet wearing a dress, high heels, a blonde wig, and a little bowler hat?

Yeah, I didn't really remember it either, until Rachel brought it up.

She was using that very vivid mental picture (you should really Google "E.T. in a wig" if you want a good laugh) to describe how she's always felt about dating—she's E.T. in a wig, and everyone else is a tan, gleaming contestant on the Bachelor.

Obviously this made me LOL. Not only because it's a hilarious analogy, but because from the outside, it's patently ridiculous. Of course she's not a weird alien, trying and failing miserably to perform a common human ritual (dating).

But as dubious as it sounds to me, it feels true to HER, and that's what impostor syndrome is all about—You're constantly afraid that you're going to be "found out" as the fraud you fear you "truly" are, regardless of how silly or illogical it seems on the outside.

In this Magic 8-Ball episode from July 2018, we dived in to impostor syndrome and how to overcome it. We covered…

• Where impostor syndrome comes from, and why it's so sneaky (hint: it's because everyone has it, but no one's willing to talk about it).
• Why high achievers and intelligent people are actually the MOST likely to suffer from it.
• Why impostor syndrome tends to go hand-in-hand with the feeling that something came "too easily" to us.
• How to tell if you're experiencing impostor syndrome, versus when you might ACTUALLY be an impostor.
• Plus, I coached Rachel on the fly about her impostor syndrome, and we got to the bottom of what's going on.

Leave a comment after you've listened to share your own experiences with impostor syndrome!

LISTEN TO THESE EPISODES NEXT

Bring your own butterbeer: Kristen interviews Rachel on her 30th birthday! (August 2018)

Side Chat: Are you copping out? Or letting yourself off the hook? (April 2020)

Magic 8-Ball: The grief of transitions (April 2020)

GET TEXTS FROM CLARITY ON FIRE!

Want to get weekly texts from us? Sign up here, OR … text your first name followed by your email address (Example: Hermione [email protected]) to 703-783-3223.

LINKS

Leave us a comment on this episode

Take the Passion Profile Quiz

Submit your question for a future episode of Dear Krachel

Sign up for texts from us

Check out our YouTube channel