Indeed, deadly extreme sports are not irrational. They are an uncheatable filter of fitness. Most modern costly signals are often skirted through luck, background or socially toxic behaviour.
Having hard evidence of one’s superiority can be just the thing necessary to live a fulfilling life, instead of being locked in a stagnant cycle of constant doubt. For some, the latter is even worse than death. I’d wager people suffering from impostor syndrome rarely have anything else under their belt than safe skills.
Looks like I was wrong, impostor syndrome will still happily present itself in climbers, see gbear’s counter. It even looks like it’s the other way around: unfulfilled lack of self-worth fueling never-ending pursuit for achievement.
Doing some research, it sounds like imposters syndrome is totally present among mountain climbers. Unless you’ve conquered Everest, there’s always some taller or more dangerous mountain that someone else has done.
See, for instance, this article about a climber feeling imposters syndrome after climbing a difficult cliff, because “I felt like it must not be as hard as people said it was because I was able to do it.” It also quotes a psychologist who works with athletes as saying “Imposter syndrome is very common, very pervasive, … It’s most common among high achievers. It’s also prevalent in individual sports like cycling, running, swimming, and—you guessed it—climbing.”
There are many other articles on the internet about people who are achieving huge climbing goals but still feeling imposters syndrome. Based on many of those, it seems to me like imposters syndrome is connected to the culture around an activity more than the actual content of the activity.
I’ve always wondered if part of the reason impostor syndrome is so common among high achievers might be because imposter syndrome helps people become high achievers. If you never think you’re good enough, you will never be satisfied and will always keep striving to do better. And that’s what it really takes to be the best.
Indeed, deadly extreme sports are not irrational. They are an uncheatable filter of fitness. Most modern costly signals are often skirted through luck, background or socially toxic behaviour.
Having hard evidence of one’s superiority can be just the thing necessary to live a fulfilling life, instead of being locked in a stagnant cycle of constant doubt. For some, the latter is even worse than death.I’d wager people suffering from impostor syndrome rarely have anything else under their belt than safe skills.Looks like I was wrong, impostor syndrome will still happily present itself in climbers, see gbear’s counter. It even looks like it’s the other way around: unfulfilled lack of self-worth fueling never-ending pursuit for achievement.
Doing some research, it sounds like imposters syndrome is totally present among mountain climbers. Unless you’ve conquered Everest, there’s always some taller or more dangerous mountain that someone else has done.
See, for instance, this article about a climber feeling imposters syndrome after climbing a difficult cliff, because “I felt like it must not be as hard as people said it was because I was able to do it.” It also quotes a psychologist who works with athletes as saying “Imposter syndrome is very common, very pervasive, … It’s most common among high achievers. It’s also prevalent in individual sports like cycling, running, swimming, and—you guessed it—climbing.”
https://www.climbing.com/news/if-climbing-defines-your-self-worth-you-could-have-a-psychological-condition-known-as-imposter-syndrome/
There are many other articles on the internet about people who are achieving huge climbing goals but still feeling imposters syndrome. Based on many of those, it seems to me like imposters syndrome is connected to the culture around an activity more than the actual content of the activity.
I’ve always wondered if part of the reason impostor syndrome is so common among high achievers might be because imposter syndrome helps people become high achievers. If you never think you’re good enough, you will never be satisfied and will always keep striving to do better. And that’s what it really takes to be the best.