There’s a joke that goes like this: the real impostor syndrome is feeling impostor syndrome about your impostor syndrome. As in—how can you be sure what you’re experiencing is the real thing everyone talks about, and not just some imaginary nonsense you made up in your head? Funny, right?
The problem is—it’s not really a joke.
There Are Two Impostor Syndromes
In reality, there are two types of impostor syndrome. One belongs to beginners. The other—to real professionals.
The beginner’s impostor syndrome is the most common one. Simply because true professionals are rare. You get your first consistent wins, start understanding the subject better than most people around you—and suddenly, doubt kicks in. You feel like you don’t really belong here. Like any moment now, real adults will show up and say, “Hey, who are you again?”
You remember how you’ve failed 47 times, how you learned from books instead of inventing everything yourself, how “anyone could do this.” Even if there’s money in your account and trophies on the shelf, there’s still that voice saying: “None of this actually counts.”
Then You Become a Pro — and It Gets Worse
Time passes. You build statistics. Responsibility grows. You’re no longer just doing the work—you’re managing projects, people, systems. And that’s when the second creature crawls in: the professional impostor syndrome.
This one is fundamentally different.
You know you’re a real professional. You understand the field. You can clearly see that, on average, others know less than you. You recognize that your results aren’t random. You hit the target often. Objectively speaking—you’re good at what you do.
And This Is Where It Gets Uncomfortable
You can’t guarantee the outcome.
Yes, you know everything about shooting. Yes, you hit the target more often than not. But you can’t promise you’ll hit it every single time. Or this specific time.
If you can—then the target is too close.
Ambition Always Lives in the Fog
Truly ambitious projects always exist in the fog. They’re always far away. The odds of success are often around 20%. Sometimes 95%, if everything is clear and structured. But never 100%.
This is where the real professional impostor syndrome is born. You realize that you’re just a human being. Smart, experienced, backed by a team and resources—but success itself is inherently random. No matter how much strategy, intelligence, and sleepless nights you put in.
And if the result is guaranteed, then it’s no longer success. It’s routine. Predictability. It’s that thought: “Why am I even spending time on this? Assistant, come here. You do this now. Here’s the manual and the tools.”
Why “Successful” People Feel Like Frauds
So if you’ve been in your industry for five years, you know everything, and things are working out—you’re probably not a real success story. Even if success is visible.
Truly successful people grow by working on things that will work out maybe one time out of ten. Despite their achievements, experience, resources, and teams.
Every morning, they wake up with the same question: “If I’m a professional and I know what I’m doing, why can’t I guarantee the result?” And they stare at the decision tree with quiet horror, realizing how many variables must align in pure chaos for things to turn out exactly the way they need to.
This is rarely said out loud, but this is what the adult version of impostor syndrome really looks like. And as menscult.net writes, it’s not a weakness—it’s a side effect of moving toward places where there are no guarantees.
What is real impostor syndrome?
Real impostor syndrome is a mental state in which a person recognizes their professional competence but fully understands that they cannot guarantee outcomes due to uncertainty and complexity.
How does impostor syndrome differ for beginners and professionals?
Beginners doubt themselves because of limited experience, while professionals struggle with the probabilistic nature of success and the absence of absolute certainty.
Why do successful people feel like impostors?
Successful people operate in environments with high stakes and ambiguity, where results depend on many variables. This awareness creates psychological vulnerability, not incompetence.
Is impostor syndrome dangerous?
Impostor syndrome is not dangerous by itself. It becomes a problem only when it stops growth instead of accompanying progress.
