 A long time ago, I decided to curate my own art exhibition. It would be a solo exhibition, and my first. I had previously curated another artist's exhibition several years prior to this, and I must say it was a resounding success. One problem that kept nagging at me about the impending event was that I wasn't an artist. I had never produced any expressive content, and now I had to do it all alone. I had loads of expressive talent, had great success as an architect, and an even larger hunger for storytelling to go with it, all of which I was extremely confident of. But regardless of these facts, doubts crept into my mind anyway, up to the opening night. Was I talented enough? Would I be able to do everything by myself? Would it be up to my expectations? That moment of question that I went through is a phenomenon called impostor syndrome. This phenomenon is not a mental disorder, but is a psychological incident where doubt invades our being, regardless of how much knowledge, talent, experience, or confidence we might have. People who struggle with this disorder are typically those who excel in their fields, be it business, healthcare, or the expressive arts. Yet nonetheless, a fear is born when they feel they might be exposed as frauds, despite all the historical real proof and tangible success present, that would prove to them otherwise. This isn't a circumstance of glass half empty or half full. The glass in this case is certainly almost full up to the rim, but even with all that hard data looking you in the eye, you still manage to look at that thin sliver of emptiness that plays with your mind, telling you that you're not good enough, compounding its weight of doubt on your shoulders, your knowledge, experience, and confidence, all these powerful tools that you typically stand on as your foundation of excellence at this moment seem distant and trivial to you. This is the point when your perception overcomes the reality, but why? To answer this question, we should identify the personal behavioral traits that lead people to struggling with the syndrome. These are the five characteristics that are experienced. The need to be the best, the need to do the most, the need to not need others, the need to always feel competent, the need to feel that you know it all. The reality of the matter is that all these traits start with so much positivity. This is the delusion. Every single trait, whether it's wanting to be the best or do the most, all suggests that you are exceptionally good at what you do and work very hard for it. There is so much strength in this syndrome that must be recognized. Wanting to feel competent means you're already very intelligent. Even the need to do things on your own means that you can do things on your own. Doing things with others will just take you to a new threshold of achievement. Now that there's a clear distinct line between the facts and the fiction, let us reveal the three things that can help you confront, marginalize, and overcome your imposter syndrome moment. Question Yourself Criticism Separate yourself from your negative thoughts. Challenge them by asking yourself about the realities of your self-criticism. Exercise the emotion and look at the pure thoughts that are crippling your ability to act and do. Do they hold water? Self-criticism is weakest once disassociated from fear and emotion. Review your own achievements and successes. Come back to reality by performing a mental recollection of your various wins and accomplishments. Go in detail about how you achieved what you did. It's not about tooting your own horn, but with this practice you will regain your fundamental footings and stand firm while confronting your moment of doubt. Instead comparing yourself to others. What doesn't help is when you look outside yourself at moments when you're about to perform. It doesn't matter what she or he did. It's what you will do that makes whatever you're about to do unique to you. As in any other previous positive outcome you've experienced, your successes came from within you and only you. Doubt is a natural part of our being. The challenge or aim is to minimize the amount of time that doubt manifests within us, to consume its oxygen quickly so that its destructive flame is extinguished before it has any time to wreak havoc on our ability to perform and produce.