“The problem with feeling like an imposter is thinking there’s something wrong with it.

I know this is different from any way you have thought about it, but humor me. What happens when we are offered an opportunity but we feel like an imposter?

We hide.

We overwork to compensate.

We look around at our colleagues and resent them. Because why do they get to feel so secure? Why aren’t they feeling insecure? They don’t even spend time worrying about it, and that leads to more resentment! They are not working as hard as you, and now they are not stressing about the opportunity like you are.

What is the result of those actions? We spend lots of time in indecision, overwhelm, fear, resentment, and overwork. We might take the opportunity, do well even, but hate the whole process and add it to the bad feelings we already feel about ourselves.

What is behind feeling like an imposter? It’s the thoughts that we tell ourselves. It helps to understand the motivation behind these thoughts.

We were wired to survive.”

Amy Vertrees is a general surgeon and co-founder, The Common Thread Women Surgeon Coaching.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, “Stop resisting the imposter.”

This episode is sponsored by Tradeoffs, available on your favorite podcast platform.

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Hosted by Kevin Pho, MD, The Podcast by KevinMD shares the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from.