Have you heard about the imposter syndrome?

I notice when phrases and terminology trend or get popular. Can you say overused? These terms jump out at me because I’m interested in words and phrases. I’ve run across “imposter syndrome” several times the past few days. What is the imposter syndrome?

Imposter syndrome, also called perceived fraudulence, involves feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite your education, experience, and accomplishments.
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/imposter-syndrome#signs

young blond boy at the beach — My son at the beach prior to 9/11 and 2008.

Here’s an article about the Imposter Syndrome millennials and how they are insecure about their finances in the Wall Street Journal By Julia Carpenter:

“I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to managing my money.”
“I just know I’m going to screw this all up eventually anyway.”
“I don’t deserve to be earning/saving/spending as much as I am.”
These are some of the thoughts that run through my head whenever I open my banking app or check my credit score—me, a personal-finance reporter at The Wall Street Journal. My confidence in my job and my confidence in my own finances are two different things. And I’m not alone in feeling insecure about managing my own money.
As we discuss career trajectories and feelings of social belonging, many in my millennial generation are familiar with “impostor syndrome,” the phenomenon of doubting your own hard-won success and feeling like a fraud in certain spaces. This kind of self-destructive thought pattern can also infiltrate our feelings about our finances—and all too often does for millennials.
One source of many millennials’ insecurity is the scars of the 2008 recession, says Maggie Germano, a financial coach based in Washington, D.C. At that point, millennials were either early in their careers or still in school, so they had little or nothing in the way of reassuring experiences to fall back on. More than a decade—and another recession—later, many are still hesitant to claim their newfound success.
“They always feel things will fall apart financially,” Ms. Germano says. “I have clients who make really good money but then still worry about losing everything.”
This fear means you can have a harder time making tough money calls or trusting your own decision making. I feel this in my own life: I often agonize over seemingly simple financial moves and constantly second-guess my own instincts.
On top of that, the widening gap between those who could sustain their financial stability in the pandemic and those who couldn’t can lead to greater feelings of financial impostor syndrome, Ms. Germano says. Financial survivor’s guilt is a common phenomenon in the coronavirus pandemic and can lead those who have done well to question whether they deserve to be so fortunate.

I’ve talked to my kids and they say 9/11 and the 2008 market crash really marked them for life. I’m not sure if they are suffer from the imposter syndrome but those two events make them very unsure of their financial futures.

Add this crazy 2020 global pandemic and I am frightened for them and their distrust of everything we took for granted as the American Dream. They reject the system that we took for granted growing up.

I believe the insecurity of not only the the major crisis my kids have lived through has shaped their lives and their politics. They don’t believe in the same things i do. They don’t believe in either party.

I wonder If their lives hadn’t been touched by such extreme events would they have different outlooks today?

My husband rejects the notion that our kids have had it rough because of 9/11, 2008 market crash and COVID-19. He pointed out wars like the Civil War, World War I and II, and Vietnam. The 1932 stock market crash. There are all sorts of tough times in our nation’s history. Maybe this feels different because I’ve lived through it. And my kids have too.

baby girl at the beach — My daughter at Laguna Beach before life was traumatic.

Do you experience the Imposter Syndrome? In what situations?

Do you know people who suffer from the Imposter syndrome? Who are they?

Do you think our kids lives have been altered by 9/11 and COVID 19?

What other phrases or terms have you heard lately?

10 thoughts on “Have you heard about the imposter syndrome?”

I have had a hard time lately with the heat and just being tired. Husband has been receiving more treatments for cancer. Has Covid and 9/11 affected us? No, we are still healthy and my husband still went through his embolization successfully to remove tumors As for jobs, one of my best offers to work again in the district came, and I was there for most of the year until the teacher returned. There is a shortage of qualified people in some areas.

I think 9/11 affected my family who still lived in NY as they worked for NY Hospital. They have all left New York and moved to Virginia. I think as medical personnel they were involved and saw more than many of us did. Again, jobs were still there. I belly ache with the heat, and the husband’s tiredness and the adjustments I make but I know we are fortunate. My parents lived through the Depression. It made them tough as nails.

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bleuwater on May 25, 2021 at 10:06 am said:

I’m sorry for what you’re going through now with your husband’s cancer. I had four friends diagnosed with cancer during COVID. What was so hard for them was they had to go into the hospital for treatment and surgery without their spouses. I can’t imagine how 9/11 affected people in that area in healthcare.

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- cupcakecache on May 25, 2021 at 10:10 am said:
  
  Yes, my husband was diagnosed in 2015, and I was not allowed to accompany him to the VA. It has been hard this summer because he thought they took out all 8 of them and they just discovered another growth. His next operation will be in July as it might just be a cyst. It is tiring sometimes coping. I feel sorry for us and then realize how many others might have it much worse. He is still with us as his cancer is being treated and we have excellent facilities in Tampa. My brother and his wife were affected. During the pandemic, my brother was very adamant that I get my shots. Ever since 9/11, I believe he over reacts but I can understand.
  
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Thanks for letting me speak. I just felt the need to release some anxieties. Your post made me. I think your children will discover new opportunities as the jobs are out there and the opportunities.

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bleuwater on May 25, 2021 at 10:16 am said:

Thank you. I think it’s healthy to share what we’re going through. All the best to you and your husband.

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- cupcakecache on May 25, 2021 at 10:22 am said:
  
  Sorry to hear of your friends cancer experience. And yes, my brother totally freaked me out, and I got my COVID shots.
  
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We have been fortunate that we are still reasonably healthy, but we have our issues. The weather is so hot for so longs in Arizona now that we cannot enjoy the outdoor activities we used to. This can be changed, and will probably make a change later this year.

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bleuwater on May 25, 2021 at 12:11 pm said:

We moved to Arizona from California, but the weather is the same. We try to travel to the mountains and the beach to get away.

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💜 I Have Lost Interest (pun intended) in considering money IMPORTANT!!! I blu tac money to surfaces to Remind Me EveryOne; yet I Have NOT!!! Lost Respect and Appreciation for Prudish “Financial” Management, which is simply a Numbers Game…as This is The Society I CHOOSE!!! to 3DLive In; it’s Just that I No Longer Stress about money anymore as it has Lost Me many a Relationship where SHE!!! was YELLING!!! “YOU ARE NOT EARNING ENOUGH!!!” so, Folks, Where is The Love in ALL of That Feminine Focus on “Finance” 🤔 ?

…💛💚💙…

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💜 …as for “Success” in General; here Y’ALL Go, Enjoy:

ON SUCCESS CLASS 101 AND RAINBOWS

◇ – Diamond Hard – ◇

♡ Only YOU!!! Decide what Successful Means to YOU!!!
♤ How YOU!!! Succeed is Entirely Up to YOU!!!
♧ Clubbing – If Others Belittle YOUR!!! Successes YOU!!! ARE PERFECTLY ENTITLED!!! and Welcome to Tell THEM!!! to VERY KINDLY FUCK OFF!!! – Clubbing