8 Signs You Work Better Than You Think
Photo by Matthew Henry
I bet you've heard of the impostor syndrome:
The ugly feeling you don't deserve that success at work, all around just miscalculate you, and the moment will come when they find out you're nothing to die for. The reasons for this syndrome are different: culture sets, miseducation, low self-esteem, perfectionism, depression, etc.
It leads to the fact most of us mistrust own powers. We can't understand if we are good enough for this job, and the feedback from colleagues sometimes turns to be impossible to get.
But you know what? Big chances are you paint the devil blacker than he is.
Here go eight signs to help you understand that you work well, even if you doubt of it.
1. You're good at time management
Let's face it:
Time management may be Greek even to those people who are gurus of any other work-related issues. (Sure enough, it doesn't mean you need to stop doing things on time.) But if you deal with tasks, meet deadlines, and are able to organize the working process — this points to the fact you are a professional. You can order tasks by complexity and urgency, and you understand how long it will take to complete them.
The ability to manage the time and allocate resources will definitely come in handy in your career. If you don't have this skill yet, it's a high time to start working on it.
2. Colleagues Ask You for Advice
A sure sign you're an expert: people around you ask for your opinion on the issues you, in their view, understand better. Or, you are invited to train new employees. It means you're experienced enough to share the knowledge with those who need it.
And remember: one person can't know everything, so if you find it challenging to answer a question from a colleague out of hand, it's not a sign you are incompetent. Just do your best to strive for new knowledge, improve your skills in the existing ones, and understand where to look for the right answers. Last I checked, the skill to get new skills still worked.
3. You Take on Complex Projects
The best advice for those willing to estimate own progress:
Don't compare yourself to others but yesterday you. When you can't understand if you’re good at handling tasks, remember how you worked when just entered this job and took up your role.
Most likely, everything has changed since then. Now you take on more complex projects, learn new things, and feel more confident with routine tasks. Or, at least you strive for it. If you see your professional growth and give one hundred percent to it, there should be no reason to worry.
4. You Set Big Goals
No, it doesn't mean you should know a clear answer to the most common interview question a la "Where you see yourself in five years." But it will come in handy to understand what you want from the future and what career path you need for success.
If you know what you want from the work you do, if you have a clear plan and desire to follow it, if you understand why you need a current position — more likely, you are OK.
5. You Speak Your Mind at Meetings
Business meetings and working sessions are a great way to evaluate the work of the department, brainstorm new ideas, visualize them, generate creative tasks, and solve problems.
So if you take such meetings seriously and use them to organize work rather than sit quietly and wait for them to finish, then you don't waste time. And if your business ideas are put into practice or, at least, listened, it means that you have fewer reasons to worry about the quality of your work than it seems.
6. If You're Not Comfortable with Something, It's Taken Seriously
Even a dream job may have some moments you won't like or want to change. It doesn't mean this job doesn't fit you or you don't fit this job. The only question is whether you have the opportunity to say what you don't like about it and how the management reacts to your claim.
If your words are taken seriously, and they are ready to consider what you said for your better comfort at work, it means you’re at the right place.
7. You’re Able to Focus on Work at Hand
No one in his sober senses would work eight hours in a row, with no distractions. We all strive for better time management, less procrastination, and a balanced working process for no stumbles. It's okay to feel stressed, tired, or out of ideas, as long as procrastination and burnouts don't become your norm.
If you are able to focus on work, if you can deal with distractions, if you try to do your job well, and if you can enter the state of flow while working — it means you fare better than you think.
8. You’re Self-Dependent
The more you work, the better you understand the working processes and feel more independent?
The boss no longer controls your every minute, as it often happened when you just began to work? Do you have a chance to choose projects for yourself? Or, you know what it's still worth doing even if there's no urgent task at this very moment? Or, maybe you understand what else you can do to cope with tasks better.
Long story short:
if you feel more comfortable at work now,
if you can deal with more tasks and have more skills than a year ago,
if you understand the responsibility for your work and you are result-oriented,
and if at least half of the above-said is about you . . .
. . . then you work better than you think. Don't give your inner impostor a chance to beat you!
Guest post writer Lesley Vos is a professional copywriter and guest contributor, currently blogging at Bid4Papers.com. Specializing in data research, web text writing, and content promotion, she is in love with words, non-fiction literature, and jazz. Find Lesley on Twitter to say hi and see more articles of hers.