I had to recently assemble a packet of materials for my post-tenure review, a process I go through every six years to prove that I am meeting or exceeding expectations in my teaching, research and service to the College, community and/or profession. In essence, I spent about 40 hours trying to make the case that I am "great," highlighting all of the "great" things I have done since my last big review at the College. After submitting that packet last Thursday, though, I have felt crappy, down-in-the-dumps, anxious and grouchy. I think I felt all of those things while I was actually writing my narrative and assembling the packet but I became most aware of it the last few days. Today, I started paying attention to that voice in my head and what it was saying to me about me and I realized that--after a bit of translation--that voice in my head was saying things like:

"I'm a fraud! I don't know what the hell I'm talking about in my classes."

"My students think I'm a doofus."

"I do not deserve a 'superior' post-tenure review rating!"

"The only reason my boss praised me is because she feels sorry for me."

"If people only knew the 'real me' they would not want to have anything to do with me."

Once I became aware of these thoughts, it became clear that I was experiencing the "imposter syndrome." Do y'all ever experience this? If so, this Well-Being Wednesday segment is for us!

Today I've been listening to podcasts about imposter syndrome and I read a few things that were helpful, making me think a little differently about imposter syndrome and how to reframe my thoughts and to learn from those thought patterns that emerged while I was having to prove my worth to others with that damn post-tenure review packet. So, below are links to some podcasts and websites that might be of interest to you.