Most explanations of imposter syndrome begin with the same assumption:
Self-doubt is evidence something is wrong with us.
But what if we’ve been interpreting the signal backwards?
That’s the question author, speaker, and Dopamine Coach Kirsten Bombdiggity explores in her new book, Imposter Syndrome Is a Growth Spurt.
Bombdiggity offers an evidence-informed framework suggesting that imposter syndrome may not be evidence of inadequacy at all, but rather a sign that high-achieving women are outgrowing an identity that no longer fits. She argues that it frequently appears during seasons of growth, when our lives begin expanding faster than our old identities can keep up. That’s why it so often shows up after the breakthrough instead of before it.
Through essays exploring burnout, perfectionism, people-pleasing, belonging, invisible labor, boundaries, and identity, Imposter Syndrome Is a Growth Spurt examines why so many women mistake adaptation for failure.
Rather than trying to convince readers to think more positively, the book invites them to reconsider what their discomfort may actually be communicating.
At the heart of the book is a simple but provocative question:
What if imposter syndrome isn’t evidence something is wrong with you?
What if it’s evidence your old identity can no longer contain who you’re becoming?
As Bombdiggity writes:
“Children wobble while learning to walk. Adults wobble while growing into a new identity. Only one gets mistaken for failure. The wobble is not the enemy.”
About Kirsten Bombdiggity
Kirsten Bombdiggity legally changed her last name after her divorce, a decision that inspired much of the work she does today. She is a Forbes-featured Dopamine Coach for Women Over 40 and author of Imposter Syndrome Is a Growth Spurt, as well as the Amazon Top 10 bestseller Divorced After 40.
Learn more about her books, speaking, and coaching at fbombdiggity.com.
