It’s a strange paradox: the moments that should bring the most confidence, when relationships are thriving, health is strong, or work is recognized, are often the very moments when doubt creeps in.

Not the loud, obvious kind of doubt. More like a whisper beneath the surface:

You don’t really deserve this.

You’ve fooled them all.

They’re going to find out.

It’s unnerving how often that voice shows up when things are going well, eh? We tend to expect insecurity in the face of failure. But success? That’s when the mind can panic the most.

Exposing imposter syndrome

This experience has a name: imposter syndrome. First defined by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes, it describes high-functioning individuals who struggle to internalize their success and live in fear of being “found out.” Despite external evidence to the contrary, there’s a persistent feeling of fraudulence.

Imposter syndrome doesn’t just show up early in one’s journey. In fact, it often intensifies as success grows. The further someone moves beyond the self-image they’re used to, the more uncomfortable it can feel. As achievements accumulate, so too can internal resistance to accepting them. The inner narrative goes: This must be a fluke. And if the success continues, the fear deepens: What if it all falls apart?

Psychologically, this is a misalignment between self-perception and external reality. From a mindfulness lens, it’s part of what Buddhist teacher Tara Brach calls the trance of unworthiness —a pervasive, often unconscious belief that, at our core, we’re not enough. This belief can become so familiar that it feels like the truth.

But these stories are not fixed. And they’re not facts. Both meditation and scientific frameworks offer practical ways to work with these very common feelings, not to erase them entirely, but to meet them with greater clarity and understanding.

1. Recognize the trance

In mindfulness practice, awareness begins with recognition and naming. Noticing the internal script, “this is doubt,” “this is unworthiness,” creates a distance. That small pause can shift the dynamic. You are not your thoughts. You are the awareness, noticing them.

This is sometimes called non-identification. Instead of becoming the voice of fear, you become the observer of it. That distinction changes everything.

Suggested practice: Labeling Thoughts w/ Manoj D (6min)

2. Separate emotion from evidence

Emotions are real, but they are not always reliable. Feeling like an imposter does not make someone an imposter. It often simply means that old conditioning has been triggered.

Under stress or in unfamiliar situations, the mind defaults to outdated stories. That’s the brain’s threat response system at work. But one of the key teachings in contemplative disciplines is this: not every thought needs to be believed. A story may arise, I’m not enough, but awareness allows a return to presence. Again and again.

Suggested practice: Confidence Boost w/ Erin G (6min)

3. Say it out loud

Shame grows in silence. Imposter syndrome thrives in isolation. One of the fastest ways to diffuse it is through honest connection.

Psychologist Kristin Neff calls this common humanity: the simple truth that suffering, doubt, and fear are part of the shared human experience. Brené Brown’s research echoes this: when we speak our truth in safe spaces, we make room for empathy and dissolve shame.

Everyone, at some point, questions whether they belong. Saying so out loud can soften the grip.

Suggested practice: Shadow Self w/ Manoj D (15min)

4. Shift the frame

Growth mindset theory, popularized by Dr. Carol Dweck, reminds us that intelligence and capacity are not fixed; they evolve. This aligns with many contemplative views, which regard the self not as a fixed identity, but as a dynamic, unfolding process.

Instead of asking, “Who am I to be here?”, the question becomes, “Who am I still becoming?” This perspective invites gentleness and curiosity, rather than judgment.

The aim isn’t to prove anything. It’s to participate in the unfolding of one’s life with intention.

Suggested practice: Contemplate Confidence w/ Alli S (5min)

5. Reconnect with purpose

In yoga and meditation, the term "sankalpa" refers to intention, a vow or resolution rooted in deeper values. Western psychology refers to this as eudaimonic purpose: a life aligned not just with pleasure, but with meaning.

When insecurity flares, it helps to return to the deeper why. Why did this path begin? What matters most? Grounding in purpose can stabilize the mind when self-image feels shaky.

In other words: when fear says “this isn’t who I am,” the response becomes “this is what I serve.”

Suggested practice: Clarity and Gratitude w/ Manoj D (15min)

Final thoughts

There may never be a final moment when the voice of doubt disappears. And maybe that’s not the point. Maybe the deeper invitation is to move forward with clarity, not by waiting for the fear to vanish, but by walking alongside it with greater awareness.

Success doesn’t demand certainty. It asks for presence, alignment, and courage… Not in the absence of doubt, but in the presence of it.

Perhaps the real work isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s remembering that growth and discomfort often go hand in hand.

And learning, again and again, how to stay. How to return. And how to trust that you’re already enough, even as you become more.