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&lt;p&gt;Think about the last time you felt fear and anxiety take control of your day. Maybe it stopped you from speaking up in a meeting because you felt like your opinion wasn&#39;t worthwhile. Perhaps a simple email took you hours to write because your inner critic kept telling you it wasn&#39;t good enough—that you weren&#39;t good enough.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Many high-achievers struggle with thoughts that they&#39;re frauds and incompetent, despite a track record of accomplishments. This psychological phenomenon, known as Impostor Syndrome, can show up in many areas of our lives, including at work in the form of:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Downplaying promotions&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Declining new responsibilities&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Assuming you&#39;re not qualified enough for your job&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;While no one&#39;s immune from self-doubt, it actually impacts high-achievers the most, and, in my experience,&#160;this battle with the inner critic is one many successful people share—yet one we don&#39;t often talk about it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The fear of failure is a universal human emotion, experienced by some of the world&#39;s most successful people. Maya Angelou once admitted: &quot;I have written eleven books, but each time I think, Uh-oh, they&#39;re going to find out now. I&#39;ve run a game on everybody, and they&#39;re going to find me out.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Leaders from virtually every industry have spoken about feeling undeserving of success, including Neil Gaiman, Sheryl Sandberg, Emma Watson, and even Albert Einstein.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So if you&#39;re dealing with Impostor Syndrome, know that you&#39;re not alone. While it&#39;s true that self-doubt can be toxic, what&#39;s more problematic is the fact that we never learn to deal with this normal, expected emotion in healthy ways.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OTf35doZPM&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;In my TEDx talk&lt;/a&gt;&#160;I share a simple two-step strategy highly successful people use to overcome self-doubt. The secret is approaching uncertainty as a skill and embracing a growth mindset, understanding that&#160;uncertainty is&#160;something you can get better at with time and practice.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You can&#160;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OTf35doZPM&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;watch my talk&lt;/a&gt;&#160;for the full details, but here are a few tips to get you started.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. Recognize repetitive thought patterns and actively change&#160;your mindset.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Out of the 60 to 70,000 thoughts we have every day,&#160;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;https://www.reference.com/world-view/many-thoughts-per-minute-cb7fcf22ebbf8466&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;estimates suggest&lt;/a&gt;&#160;that 98 percent of them are the same. This means your inner critic is really a habit—a thought pattern you can get control of.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Start by identifying&#160;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;https://melodywilding.com/how-to-overcome-impostor-syndrome/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;underlying beliefs&lt;/a&gt;&#160;(potentially rooted in childhood) that may make you feel as though you don&#39;t deserve your success. Look for exaggerated, irrational, or unrealistic thoughts that come up again and again, and practice identifying&#160;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;https://melodywilding.com/free-workbook-change-negative-thoughts-limit-success/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;common cognitive distortions&lt;/a&gt;&#160;that trip you up.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. Get curious and ask questions.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Your inner critic is really there to protect you, so do your best to&#160;practice self-compassion. Take the questions it poses at face value and use it for problem solving.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For example, if your inner critic is cautioning that you may not be ready to pursue a&#160;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;https://melodywilding.com/how-to-up-your-tolerance-for-ambiguity-and-future-proof-your-career/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;new career path&lt;/a&gt;, address its concerns constructively. Use it as an opportunity to&#160;honestly assess your skills&#160;and evaluate gaps you need to fill.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. Don&#39;t let fear get in the way of&#160;your purpose.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We all experience worry and confusion in the face of change and uncertainty. It&#39;s normal to be afraid. Our inner critic will always speak up anytime we try to&#160;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;https://melodywilding.com/5-no-fail-ways-to-finally-start-your-next-big-project/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;do big things&lt;/a&gt;&#160;no matter how positive we try to be. Hearing the voice of your inner critic can mean you&#39;re about to do something brave and important to you.&#160;No one gets the luxury of living without fear—not even confident people.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So, it&#39;s time to start viewing your emotions—the good and the bad—for what they are:&#160;your greatest strengths and most valuable tools.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;A version of this post previously appeared at &lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;https://melodywilding.com/highly-successful-people-handle-self-doubt/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;MelodyWilding.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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