IMPOSTER
I have a confession, and it's one I almost didn't put into words.
I am the type who always wants more learning. Another certification. Another degree. Another book, another course. Part of that is genuine — I love learning, I love absorbing new material, and I don't think that's a bad thing in itself. But somewhere along the way, that love of learning quietly turned into something else. A trap.
Here's what I mean. Even after I'd studied and actually implemented the mental game myself — even after real, tangible success out on the competition floor — even with a master's degree in education and full certification as a mental performance coach — even after seeing amazing transformations in my clients — I still had this thought running underneath everything I did. I'm not really the expert yet. Maybe the next book will finally make me legitimate. Maybe the next certification is the one that makes it official.
It took me embarrassingly long to name what that belief actually was.
It wasn't ambition. It was imposter syndrome.
WHAT IMPOSTER SYNDROME ACTUALLY IS
If the term feels a little clinical, you're not wrong to feel that way — some experts actually prefer calling it imposter phenomena instead, since it's not a diagnosis. It's a pattern of thinking. But here's how you know if it's showing up in your own life. Have you ever asked yourself, who am I to do this? Have you ever felt like a fraud, like any minute someone's going to figure out you don't actually belong? Have you ever earned something and immediately handed the credit to luck, or your team, or anyone but yourself?
If any of that sounds familiar, you're in very good company. As many as 70% of people report feeling like an imposter at some point in their professional lives. That statistic comes from a book I've been working through called The Imposter Solution, by Cassandra Dunn — and it's become the backbone of this week's podcast episodes.
I see this constantly in my own coaching, too. Competitors who've had real, measurable success, and instead of owning it, they explain it away. It was a lucky draw. My horse did all the work. I just had a good day. We're uncomfortable speaking with the voice of our inner champion, especially out loud, because it can feel arrogant. But denying the real results of our own effort doesn't make us humble. It just quietly erodes the confidence we've actually earned, one dismissed win at a time.
THE TRAP I FELL INTO
My own version of this showed up as what Dunn calls "the expert" archetype — one of five common shapes imposter syndrome tends to take. For me, there was always one more credential standing between me and actually believing I'd earned the title I already held. I'd tell myself the next thing would finally make it official. Except it never did. Because the problem was never a lack of credentials. The problem was a story I was telling myself, and no amount of letters after my name was ever going to rewrite it for me.
That's really the whole point, though, isn't it? These beliefs aren't facts. They're stories, written in over time, the same way limiting beliefs get written in. Which means they can be rewritten, the same way we can rewrite any other limiting belief — not by collecting more proof, but by actually examining the story itself and asking whether it's even true.
FIVE STEPS TO WORK THROUGH IT
Dunn lays out a five-step process in her book, and it's exactly what I built this week's podcast around. Here's the short version.
1. Recognize what's happening. Before we can fix anything, we have to notice it. Our brain naturally prioritizes whatever confirms what we already believe about ourselves, and quietly ignores anything that contradicts it. So if our core belief is "I got lucky," that's exactly what our brain goes looking for — and exactly what it overlooks when the opposite is true.
2. Reframe the story. Once we've caught it, we can start examining it. These beliefs aren't facts. They're stories, written in over time — no different from the limiting beliefs we've talked about before on this podcast. Which means they can be rewritten.
3. Regulate your nervous system. Imposter syndrome is fueled by fear — fear of being exposed, judged, found out. And fear activates our body's threat response, which makes it nearly impossible to think clearly. Breathwork, time in nature, and journaling all help bring the nervous system back down before we try to reason our way through anything.
4. Remember your purpose. At its root, imposter syndrome is about belonging. And here's the truth — nobody else has your exact experience, your exact story, your exact connections. There may be someone who needs precisely what you have to offer, and if you hold back believing you're not ready yet, no one else can fill that gap.
5. Respond with courage. This is where self-compassion comes in — treating ourselves with the same kindness we'd offer a friend, then taking action anyway, despite the doubt. Dunn suggests a simple exercise: list everything you'd do with zero imposter feelings, rate each for discomfort, and start with the smallest one, not the scariest one.
WHAT FINALLY HELPED
For me, it wasn't one dramatic breakthrough. It was consistently doing the work we talk about on this podcast every week — recognizing the thought when it showed up instead of just believing it automatically, and reminding myself of something simple but true: nobody else in the world has my exact combination of experience, my exact story, my exact connection to the people I work with. That's not arrogance. That's just fact. And it means there are people who need exactly what I have to offer, whether or not I've finished collecting every certification I could imagine wanting.
If you've ever felt this way — successful on paper, but quietly unconvinced you've earned it — I hope this week's episodes feel like they were written for you, because in a lot of ways, they were.
Ready to work through what's actually underneath your own doubt, instead of just pushing past it?
Well, you're in luck! I've created a worksheet to help you do just that. Click here for your free copy of the Imposter Buster Worksheet: https://mentalgame101.com/imposter
Mental performance training is NOT intended as, nor is it a substitute for, mental health care.
Laurie Blickenstaff is a Certified Mental Performance Coach, competitive team roper, and World Series of Team Roping champion. She's the founder of Mental Game 101 and host of the Cowgirl Up podcast, helping women in western sports build the mental skills to perform with consistency, confidence, and joy.
