Imposter Syndrome

One of the pain points in studying for cybersecurity certification exams is imposter syndrome. This is where you feel inadequate and that you can’t do the job or pass a certification exam. The best way to combat imposter syndrome is to show up and be consistent in your studies everyday breaking the exam into easily digestible chunks of information. The way to feel better sometimes is to go through the motions until you feel that you have what it takes to have the job or pass the certification.

Symptoms of impostor syndrome include perfectionism, burnout, a constant fear of being a fraud, difficulty of evaluating your own skills and expertise. One of the things that happens for my own anxiety is that I have to challenge myself to go through walls of worry and challenge negative thoughts. There is also a need with impostor syndrome to get through challenges and self-reflect on how you did on a specific challenge promoting positive self-talk.

Other things that will help with imposter syndrome are to get enough sleep every night, eat better and get some exercise at least three to four days a week. You can be enough and prove it to yourself by being consistent in your studies and by learning something new every day about cybersecurity. There are some things like reading the cybersecurity news and studying for an exam that will take dedication so try to work on this daily until you beat imposter syndrome.

In order to provide more management or treatment strategies you may need to challenge self-doubt, redefine your competence where failure is part of the journey, talk about your feelings of impostor syndrome and celebrate your accomplishments. Avoiding impostor syndrome is something that can hinder relationships as there is a need to isolate and not talk to others further compounding the effects of impostor syndrome.