Abstract
At least a hundred times this morning, I wondered why the editors asked me to write this essay. I’m not an expert on this topic. What do I have to say that hasn’t already been said? They will probably rescind my contract. Can’t they see I’m an imposter?
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Notes
Parts of this essay are adapted from Houston, N. M. “Too Much Self Doubt? Try Thinking Like A Creator.” ProfHacker (blog), The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 25, 2010, accessed August 6, 2014, http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/too-much-self-doubt-try-thinking-like-a-creator/25071.
Clance, P. R. and S. Imes. “The Impostor Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention,” Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice 15 (1978): 241–247.
See, for example, Clance, P. R. The Impostor Phenomenon: Overcoming the Fear that Haunts Your Success, Atlanta: Peachtree, 1985
Jarrett, C. “Feeling like a Fraud,” Psychologist 23 (2010): 380–383
and Young, V. The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women, New York: Crown, 2011.
Kaplan, K. “Unmasking the Imposter,” Nature 459 (2009): 468–469.
Laursen, L. “No, You’re Not an Impostor,” Science Careers 15 (February 15 2008), accessed August 6, 2014, http://science-careers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/arti-cles/2008_02_15/caredit.a0800025.
See, for example, Pinker, S. “Field Guide to the Self-Doubter: Extra Credit,” Psychology Today, November 1, 2009, accessed August 6, 2014, http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200911/field-guide-the-self-doubter-extra-credit.
A good introduction to mindfulness techniques is Kabat-Zinn, J. Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, New York: Hyperion, 1994.
Such practices are described in Houston, N. M. “Got a Minute? Relax.” ProfHacker (blog). In The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 3, 2009, accessed August 6, 2014, http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/got-a-minute-relax/22680
and Houston, N. M. “Got a Minute? Count Backwards,” ProfHacker (blog). In The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 29, 2009, accessed August 6, 2014, http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/got-a-minute-count-backwards/22801.
I also recommend Neill, M. Feel Happy Now! Carlsbad: Hay House, 2008.
A fuller exploration of these simple but powerful questions can be found in Katie, B. Loving What Is: How Four Questions Can Change Your Life, New York: Harmony Books, 2002.
Houston, N. M. “Why I Keep an Idea Notebook,” ProfHacker (blog). In The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 26, 2010, accessed August 6, 2014, http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/why-i-keep-an-idea-notebook/28113.
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© 2015 Greg Colón Semenza and Garrett A. Sullivan, Jr.
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Houston, N.M. (2015). Imposter Phenomenon. In: Semenza, G.C., Sullivan, G.A. (eds) How to Build a Life in the Humanities. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137428899_9
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