What holds us back from being more confident at work is often a sense that we are fundamentally different from those who succeed.

Too often we leave the possibility of success to others, as we believe our own negative self talk and see our own flaws so clearly.  This gives way to the “imposter” syndrome, where we incorrectly believe others to be perfect and ourselves to be lacking.

We know ourselves from the inside, but we know others from the outside, from a narrower and more edited source of information. We suffer – needlessly – from this negative belief we are an imposter, and a fraud.

Here’s how to understand your psychology and gain a much needed reality check.