How do you deal with the constant fear of failure? Leon Windscheid explores this question in a ZDF documentary and speaks to numerous people affected – including a celebrity.
Lots of success and still no self-confidence – this feeling is becoming increasingly well-known as the so-called impostor syndrome. Psychologist and presenter Leon Windscheid examines how those affected deal with it in the ZDF series “Terra Xplore”. The documentary “Impostor – why do we feel like impostors?” can be seen on Sunday (July 14) at 6:30 p.m. on ZDF and in advance in the station’s media library.
Among others, Windscheid meets the field reporter for the ZDF “heute show”, Lutz van der Horst. He says he is also plagued by self-doubt and fear of failure, despite his professional success. He reports that even positive feedback does not give him any security as a comedian. “Always this feeling that everything that happened before doesn’t really matter because you always start from scratch. You always have to let yourself be reassessed from scratch.” He is afraid of this because he feels like he can’t really do it.
Perfectionism or procrastination
For psychologist Sonja Rohrmann, this is not an isolated case. Those affected either tend to be perfectionists in order to compensate for their perceived weaknesses, or they put off activities out of fear of failure. And even if they are successful, they do not gain self-confidence from it. This is most often the case for people in jobs where success is difficult to measure.
Studies have shown that between 50 and 70 percent of people experience these feelings. Windscheid therefore spoke to several test subjects about the differences in how others perceive them and how they perceive themselves. The participants perceive themselves significantly less successfully than their environment.
A successful manager also shows Windscheid how she deals with her self-doubt and has accepted it as a part of her personality. And van der Horst also says that without his self-doubt he would not have ended up where he is.
Impostor syndrome is widespread and the documentary primarily gives those affected a voice and describes how they feel about it. But it also explains where these self-doubts come from and what effects they have. As someone affected, after watching this documentary, it is clear to you that you are not alone with these self-doubts.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
