Many people have experienced a situation in which they feel like they don’t belong and haven’t earned the right to be in a certain space. This is called “impostor syndrome,” which Cuddy defines as “the deep and sometimes paralyzing belief that we have been given something we didn’t earn and don’t deserve and that at some point we’ll be exposed” (88). Psychologist Pauline Rose Clance noticed this in her own life, and then in the lives of her students, who discounted the hard work that they had done to enter their academic programs. She decided to study this phenomenon, collaborating with psychologist Suzanne Imes to publish a 1978 paper on impostor phenomenon. At first, they thought, that the phenomenon primarily affects high-achieving women, but later found that “women and men were experiencing impostorism to an equal degree” (92). It also affects people across all demographics at a rate of around 65% (95).

While there are many contributing factors to impostor syndrome, a fear of failure seems to be the most prevalent factor. Even people who have won awards and are clearly a success suffer from impostorism, including famous and prolific writer Neil Gaiman. He describes fearing that one day someone official would knock on his door and tell him that writing isn’t a real job and that he needs to put on a suit and get a traditional job.