The Hogwarts Maneuver, or Dealing with Imposter Syndrome

“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Can’t you do anything right? What were you thinking? Why would anyone work with you when you can’t do something as simple as send an email?” And then they got even nastier. “Oh, they’re just being nice. They didn’t really mean it when they gave you that compliment about your work. They were just afraid of hurting your feelings,” said that insidious, unctuous voice in my ear. “You’re not good enough to do this work. You don’t have enough experience, you don’t read or study or know the right things. You’re just a nobody from the middle of nowhere, and you’re lucky that none has seen this yet. You may talk a good game, but people see right through you. You’re a fraud, so pack up and go back where you belong.”