Anne Morris

Does that ring true to you?

It does.

And permanent residency is not free.

So what's the cost of living with this?

Oh my goodness.

Well, maybe let's pull on that thread for a second, because I find myself a little ambivalent about this word syndrome.

Because it does feel like a temporary state, to your point, that it's one of the challenges as we build our way to confidence is that sometimes we have a crisis of confidence.

Sometimes there's this impostery energy that shows up, but it's not some kind of psychological illness that defines who we are in the world.

They didn't call it the title.

Yeah, the original paper that this pair of psychologists wrote in the 70s was the imposter phenomenon in high-achieving women.

And to your point, they talked to more than 100 kick-ass academics, all female, and they noticed that there was, I like your word, distortion.

There was this cognitive distortion that was a thread in the internal experience of these women.

And I think there's also good data around the fact that it can and does happen to anyone.

It is more common in women.

It's more common among people who are bringing difference into the workplace.

Xs in room full of Ys, you're more likely to see these kinds of questions.

Should I be here?

Do I deserve to be here?

Are people going to find out that I shouldn't, essentially?

Yeah, I do think these experiences are most clearly understood as distortions.