Breakfast Briefing with Martin Murphy on Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Breakfast Briefing with Martin Murphy on Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Posted By admin |17 Jul 2019
Martin started off our Breakfast Briefing with a newspaper image of Ed Sheeran saying he had social anxiety. It seemed like a strange slide to begin with but then came the realisation that social anxiety is a form of imposter syndrome, and even superstar musicians can suffer from it. 
In fact a study of 3,000 UK adults found 62% have experienced imposter syndrome in the last 12 months and 86% of adults aged 18-34 suffer with it. Interestingly people aged 45-54 were least likely to experience it and Martin reminded us that’s because as you get older you don’t care as much. With more young professionals being affected by the thought of being a professional fraud, how can we combat this and achieve our goals? Martin informed us that we are meant to experience imposter syndrome as that’s part of society. However there are ways to overcome the feeling. Firstly adopt a TRG mindset. Think Tenacious, Resilience and Growth. There are some things which you can’t control and you need to learn how to face those situations, combat them and then think about what you’ve learnt to change your mindset for future challenges. 
Things got really interesting when Martin held an an arrow at a volunteers chest and asked them to snap the arrow by walking forwards to get £10. As well as being highly entertaining the lesson of this was about commitment and to remember PACT - Purpose, Acceptance, Commitment and Take Action.
In fact a study of 3,000 UK adults found 62% have experienced imposter syndrome in the last 12 months and 86% of adults aged 18-34 suffer with it. Interestingly people aged 45-54 were least likely to experience it and Martin reminded us that’s because as you get older you don’t care as much. With more young professionals being affected by the thought of being a professional fraud, how can we combat this and achieve our goals? Martin informed us that we are meant to experience imposter syndrome as that’s part of society. However there are ways to overcome the feeling. Firstly adopt a TRG mindset. Think Tenacious, Resilience and Growth. There are some things which you can’t control and you need to learn how to face those situations, combat them and then think about what you’ve learnt to change your mindset for future challenges. Things got really interesting when Martin held an an arrow at a volunteers chest and asked them to snap the arrow by walking forwards to get £10. As well as being highly entertaining the lesson of this was about commitment and to remember PACT - Purpose, Acceptance, Commitment and Take Action.
- What is your sense of purpose? As pointed out, this can be a daunting question. However, it’s not necessarily about what you can do to change or impact the world. Rather, it is important to understand what you want to do, and then to consider what you can do with where you are and what you have.
- You have to accept that sometimes life is pain and you’re going to face challenges. You might not feel happy all the time but that isn’t abnormal.
- No matter what happens you have to commit to the things you want to do and achieve and ensure you give it your all. Like with the arrow demonstration, the volunteer would never be able to snap the arrow if they didn’t walk forward with commitment and force.
- Don’t just say things, make sure you act on them.
By Mutiat Ibrahim
By Calvin Adeyemi-Adeniran