What is imposter syndrome and how can you combat it? - Elizabeth Cox

Prevoditelj: Sanda L Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

Even after writing eleven books and winning several prestigious awards,

Čak i nakon 11 objavljenih knjiga i osvajanja nekoliko prestižnih nagrada,

Maya Angelou couldn’t escape the nagging doubt

Maya Angelou nije se mogla otarasiti osjećaja

that she hadn’t really earned her accomplishments.

da, zapravo, nije zaslužila sve što je postigla.

Albert Einstein experienced something similar:

Albert Einstein doživio je nešto slično:

he described himself as an “involuntary swindler”

sebe je opisao kao "slučajnog varalicu",

whose work didn’t deserve as much attention as it had received.

čiji rad nije zaslužio toliko pažnje koliko dobiva.

Accomplishments at the level of Angelou’s or Einstein’s are rare,

Ono što su postigli Angelou ili Einstein ne događa se često,

but their feeling of fraudulence is extremely common.

no njihov osjećaj da su prevaranti jako je čest.

Why can’t so many of us shake feelings

Zašto se većina nas ne može riješiti osjećaja

that we haven’t earned our accomplishments,

da nismo zaslužili svoja postignuća,

or that our ideas and skills aren’t worthy of others’ attention?

ili da naše ideje i vještine nisu vrijedne pažnje?

Psychologist Pauline Rose Clance was the first to study

Psihologinja Pauline Rose Clance prva je proučavala

this unwarranted sense of insecurity.

taj neopravdani osjećaj nesigurnosti.

In her work as a therapist,

Radeći kao terapeut,

she noticed many of her undergraduate patients shared a concern:

primijetila je da mnogi njezini studenti brinu oko iste stvari:

though they had high grades,

iako imaju dobre ocjene,

they didn’t believe they deserved their spots at the university.

smatraju da ne zaslužuju svoje mjesto na fakultetu.

Some even believed their acceptance had been an admissions error.

Neki čak smatraju da je njihov upis bio samo pogreška u administraciji.

While Clance knew these fears were unfounded,

Clance je znala da su ti strahovi neopravdani,

she could also remember feeling the exact same way in graduate school.

ali se sjetila da se i ona točno tako osjećala na faksu.

She and her patients experienced something that goes by a number of names--

Ona i njezini pacijenti doživjeli su nešto što ima puno naziva -

imposter phenomenon,

fenomen varalice,

imposter experience,

osjećaj varalice

and imposter syndrome.

i sindrom varalice.

Together with colleague Suzanne Imes,

Zajedno s kolegicom Suzanne Imes,

Clance first studied imposterism in female college students and faculty.

Clance je prvo proučavala taj sindrom kod studentica i ženskog dijela osoblja.

Their work established pervasive feelings of fraudulence in this group.

Istraživanje je u sudionicama izazvalo jaki osjećaj varalice.

Since that first study,

Nakon tog prvog istraživanja,

the same thing has been established across gender,

isto se pokazalo točnim za cijeli spol,

race,

age,

rasu,

dobnu skupinu

and a huge range of occupations,

i veliki raspon zanimanja,

though it may be more prevalent and disproportionately affect

iako se češće pojavljuje i utječe

the experiences of underrepresented or disadvantaged groups.

na zapostavljene ili društvene grupe u nepovoljnom položaju.

To call it a syndrome is to downplay how universal it is.

Zvati to sindromom umanjuje činjenicu da je taj osjećaj univerzalan.

It's not a disease or an abnormality,

Nije to bolest ili neprirodno stanje

and it isn’t necessarily tied to depression,

i nije nužno vezan uz depresiju,

anxiety,

tjeskobu

or self-esteem.

ili samopoštovanje.

Where do these feelings of fraudulence come from?

Otkuda dolazi taj osjećaj varalice?

People who are highly skilled or accomplished

Oni koji su veoma sposobni ili uspješni

tend to think others are just as skilled.

misle da su i drugi isto takvi.

This can spiral into feelings that they don’t deserve accolades

To može dovesti do osjećaja da ne zaslužuju priznanja

and opportunities over other people.

i dobre prilike više od drugih ljudi.

And as Angelou and Einstein experienced,

Kao što su i Angelou i Einstein iskusili,

there’s often no threshold of accomplishment

često ne postoji neki određeni broj postignuća

that puts these feelings to rest.

nakon kojeg ti osjećaji nestaju.

Feelings of imposterism aren’t restricted to highly skilled individuals, either.

No, osjećaji varalice ne pogađaju samo visoko sposobne pojedince.

Everyone is susceptible to a phenomenon known as pluralistic ignorance,

Svi smo podložni fenomenu poznatom kao opća neupućenost,

where we each doubt ourselves privately,

kada sumnjamo sami u sebe,

but believe we’re alone in thinking that way

ali vjerujemo da se jedino mi tako osjećamo,

because no one else voices their doubts.

jer nitko drugi ne izražava svoje sumnje.

Since it’s tough to really know how hard our peers work,

Budući da ne možemo znati koliko naporno naši vršnjaci rade,

how difficult they find certain tasks,

koliko im je teško obavljati pojedine zadatke

or how much they doubt themselves,

ili koliko sumnjaju u sebe,

there’s no easy way to dismiss feelings that we’re less capable

ne možemo se oteti osjećaju da smo manje sposobni

than the people around us.

nego ljudi oko nas.

Intense feelings of imposterism

Snažan osjećaj varalice

can prevent people from sharing their great ideas

sprječava ljude da podijele svoje odlične ideje

or applying for jobs and programs where they’d excel.

ili da se prijave za poslove na kojima bi bili uspješni.

At least so far,

Zasad je

the most surefire way to combat imposter syndrome

najučinkovitiji način borbe protiv sindroma varalice

is to talk about it.

taj da se o tome govori.

Many people suffering from imposter syndrome

Mnogi koji pate od sindroma varalice

are afraid that if they ask about their performance,

boje se da će se njihovi strahovi potvrditi

their fears will be confirmed.

ako zatraže mišljenje drugih.

And even when they receive positive feedback,

Čak i kada dobiju pohvalu od drugih,

it often fails to ease feelings of fraudulence.

često se taj osjećaj varalice ne smanjuje.

But on the other hand,

No, s druge strane,

hearing that an advisor or mentor has experienced feelings of imposterism

saznanje da se i vaš mentor ili nadređeni tako osjećao,

can help relieve those feelings.

može pomoći umanjiti taj osjećaj.

The same goes for peers.

Isto vrijedi i za vaše vršnjake.

Even simply finding out there’s a term for these feelings

Čak i saznanje da postoji naziv za to što osjećate,

can be an incredible relief.

može donijeti veliko olakšanje.

Once you’re aware of the phenomenon,

Kada ste jednom toga svjesni,

you can combat your own imposter syndrome

možete se boriti protiv svog sindroma varalice

by collecting and revisiting positive feedback.

skupljajući i vraćajući se pozitivnim reakcijama drugih.

One scientist who kept blaming herself for problems in her lab

Znanstvenica koja je krivila sebe za sve probleme u laboratoriju,

started to document the causes every time something went wrong.

počela je bilježiti uzroke svakog problema do kojeg bi došlo.

Eventually, she realized most of the problems

Na kraju je shvatila da većinu problema

came from equipment failure,

uzrokuje kvar na opremi

and came to recognize her own competence.

te je prepoznala vlastitu kompetentnost.

We may never be able to banish these feelings entirely,

Nikada se nećemo u potpunosti riješiti tog osjećaja,

but we can have open conversations about academic or professional challenges.

ali možemo otvoreno razgovarati o akademskim i profesionalnim izazovima.

With increasing awareness of how common these experiences are,

Šireći svijest o tome koliko su ta iskustva česta,

perhaps we can feel freer to be frank about our feelings

možemo slobodnije govoriti o vlastitim osjećajima

and build confidence in some simple truths:

i graditi povjerenje jednostavno znajući

you have talent,

da ste talentirani,

you are capable,

sposobni

and you belong.

i da pripadate.