In this episode of Legacy Sessions, Jennie welcomes the inspiring Yeve Chitiga, an attorney, author, speaker, and executive coach, to walk us through overcoming imposter syndrome. Together, they unpack limiting beliefs, the roots of perfectionism, and actionable strategies to help you rewrite the stories you tell yourself and step into your power.
In this episode, Jennie sits down with Yeve—an attorney, published children’s book author, and executive coach—to talk all about imposter syndrome. Yeve is a “personal trainer for the heart, mind, and soul" and shares her personal journey of navigating perfectionism, overcoming self-doubt, and reclaiming her confidence.
Imposter syndrome can make us feel stuck, shrink ourselves, and question our worth. But as Yeve beautifully explains, transformation starts with the stories we tell ourselves. She also walks us through her formula for breaking free from limiting beliefs and embracing a mindset of confidence, clarity, and self-compassion.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:
Here’s a look at what we discuss:
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Jennie:
Welcome to Legacy Sessions, the pep talk podcast for ambitious women who better the world. If you're a social impact female founder, nonprofit consultant, or a mission-driven entrepreneur; this the place where we'll meet you where you're at, but not leave you there. My name is Jennie and I'm the founder and chief hype woman over at Wild Awake, and in each episode of Legacy Sessions you will get a short but powerful, pep talk on a specific topic from women who can help you reframe your thoughts and re-imagine what's possible in life and in business.
Welcome, welcome my friends. I am so excited for today's episode because we have the beautiful and magnetic Yeve with us today talking all about imposter syndrome. If you do not know Yeve yet, she is just amazing. She is an attorney. She is a published children's book, author. She is a speaker and she is currently an executive coach who is on a mission to support women in accessing new levels of clarity and confidence.
And you will totally feel that my friends when you hear her speak today. She describes herself as a personal trainer for the heart, mind, and soul. And I could not agree more with that description. So without further ado, here is your pep talk on imposter syndrome from Yeve.
I am so happy to have you with us today. As someone who has experienced imposter syndrome for as long as I can remember, when I think about it, what comes up for me is feeling stuck, feeling contracted, being in a state of comparison and judgment and just generally feeling unworthy stepping into my power and claiming what I want. And I'm really curious to hear from you as someone who is an expert on this, of what limiting beliefs do you see arise in folks and how their imposter syndrome might manifest?
Yeve:
Thank you so much for having me on. I'm excited to be here. This is such an important topic, and I think, you know, the thing that I see the most with my clients, is it, it feels as though you're, you're not able to move forward. Because the imposter syndrome, you know, in your head is telling you all the things and it's like a recurring tape.
But I'm here to tell you and to encourage you if you're listening to this, that you can experience transformation and that transformation starts with the stories that you tell yourself. about who you are, what you believe about who you are and what you're capable of.
Jennie:
And I'm excited to dig into this later, because I think you'll be sharing some action steps on how we rewrite those stories. But I actually had a coaching session this morning, very timely, and realized that some imposter syndrome was creeping back in as I plan a new launch. I'm making a lot of changes in my business. And I'm just curious for someone like me who is actively realizing imposter syndrome is creeping in - and for anyone else out there who is listening - how do we reframe those limiting beliefs? And what would you tell me or anyone else who's going through that?
Yeve:
Yeah. Thank you for sharing that about where you're at in your experience. What I always try to remind clients, remind myself is you've made it this far because of so many amazing qualities that you bring to the table. You've made it this far because of grit, determination. And quite frankly, because you're qualified in whatever it is that you do, you've carved a path for yourself and the world needs more of what you have.
That's a fact, right? And I think the other thing that I observe is we often think that we're alone in this. It's just me experiencing this. You know, everyone else has it figured out. That's just a lie. It's a lie that our minds tell ourselves. And you know, according to a four year old study from Harvard Business Review actually 2021 is when they said this- the search for imposter syndrome on Google yielded over 5 million results. That means that since the term was coined right in the late seventies and as the term has become more mainstream, it's clear that this is a real problem that people face. It's clear that people are trying to navigate, okay, imposter syndrome. What does it look like? How do I deal with it, et cetera. And so it also means that if you think that people have figured it all out, That's not true. Everybody is grappling with it, right? We're all fumbling this thing called life. And some people just happen to, to do that better. And quite honestly, I think that's freeing, right? It's freeing to know that you're not the only one who's on this journey, who has these doubts, who has, you know, this imposter syndrome creep up from time and again, you're not alone.
Jennie:
I don't know if there are any four words more powerful than “you are not alone.” Maybe the three words “I see you,” like I hear that and it just hits me right in the chest. I think imposter syndrome is such a lonely and isolating experience because you think that everyone else is worthy, but not you and you're the only one.
And yeah, that feeling of not being alone, I think is just so powerful. So thank you for driving that home. I'm curious if you can share a little bit about your own journey navigating imposter syndrome, because if there's anything I've learned, it's the best teachers are usually the ones teaching from a place of deep experience.
So yeah, would love to hear a little bit more about your story.
Yeve:
A reframe, with a shift in my mindset, and I'll start with the place that I'm in today. That place is a place where I am comfortable in my skin, I am confident in my abilities and I know that I bring value. I also know that I'm not for everyone. I also know that I will encounter resistance, opposition in certain spaces for many reasons. And that's okay. That's okay too. I think part of my imposter syndrome struggle has been rooted very much in perfectionism and I am a recovering perfectionist.
Thankfully I'm walking this journey of really shedding these expectations of perfection. And I'm reminded because I have a young daughter. She is six and she looks up to me and she is learning and trying to understand, you know, what, what it means to make mistakes and is it okay? And is this okay? Right. And as I'm teaching her, I'm reminding myself, I am parenting myself too, because I think I, really embraced this idea that I had to be perfect. I had to be perfect. And if I wasn't, things would go wrong. And I think that started and manifested in different ways, like growing up as a child, right- in a single parent home- and then it continued navigating my way as an immigrant to the U.S. Being the first in my family to be a lawyer, and doing all of these things as the first, as the only I felt this incredible weight, incredible weight on my shoulders not to drop the ball, not to mess it up, because if I did, then what would happen to the people coming behind me? And what would that mean for the people who went ahead of me?
And soall of those things culminated at a really like peak point, I would say in the practice of law, where if you're working at a law firm and you are a service provider to clients, there's very little to no room for mistakes in your word product.
And so being in an environment where mistakes were not tolerated and the way of doing business, the M. O. was to find the person who made the mistake. That's the first thing we're going to do is who caused this to happen. Right. And so a very, very tough, you know, high pressure environment. And in that environment, I found myself. Really questioning “what am I, what am I even doing here?” You know, why do I think I can do this? Why am I daring to do something so audacious and so big working at these top world class law firms, right? What am I doing? And I think a combination of having really great support in my family, my husband, my mom, my friends, You know, champions of mine who saw what I couldn't see in myself and spoke life into me and told me that I belonged, that I'd worked hard to be there and reminded me,that, listen, you, you, you went to school for this. You were selected for this job, right? And look at all these things that you're crushing. Don't let the one, you know, period of mistakes or whatever it is. Don't let the one thing outweigh everything else that you've done. Right? And that's a tendency that we have when we are dealing with imposter syndrome is we're blinded by the thing that has gone wrong or that could go wrong and that overshadows everything else.
And then we become fixated on this, on this one path of negativity. And so. You know, I really hit a very low place where as much as I love public speaking and using my voice, I stopped doing that and I started to shrink myself because I thought, you know, the more I shrink myself, the less, the less room there is for me to be exposed imposter, right?
The less room there is for me to make a mistake and then, you know, get the fallout from that. And what that did is it was slowly, slowly killing me, you know, and crushing my spirit and my soul and it's really been a journey of about probably six years. And I say six years with confidence because that's how old my daughter is. And really walking out this motherhood journey, parenting journey. I have also rebirthed, you know, all the things that I needed to, and I'm, you know, parenting myself and I'm learning things and learning new things. As I juggle. You know how I show up in the world and who I am as an individual and then what I want to impart on my child.
And so, you know, over the course of therapy, multiple coaches, a lot of introspection, a lot of reflection, right? A lot of practicing some of the things that we're talking about in terms of how to overcome imposter syndrome. A lot of doing that repeatedly. You rewire the way that you think.And here I am today and I'm, I'm so, so, so, so confident in everything that I bring to the table, flaws and all, you know, because I know that there was a space and a place for my story, for my voice. And I also embrace fully that I don't have all the answers. I'm going to make mistakes. I'm still a work in progress. But I give myself so much grace. I really, really do. Like I've been through a journey as we all have with highs and lows, and each of the things that I have been through have really shaped me and molded me into who I am. And there is such a beauty in that. And so I am sitting at a place where I embrace that and I am, I'm enjoying it. I'm having so much fun. It's freeing, you know, there's a lot of freedom. There's a lot of freedom.
And so that's, that's the snippet of my story.
Jennie:
I am so glad that you brought up the connection to perfectionism. I am also recovering perfectionist and have spent most of my adult life in therapy and working through that and really understood the roots of that in my childhood and through trauma and how perfectionism, ina lot of ways… with imposter syndrome, you're setting yourself an impossible bar, and so you are always going to live in a state of feeling like an imposter, because you will never reach this idea that you have of what it takes to be worthy. I think the other thing that kind of comes from that is, if I play small, then I'm safe. And I think it then breeds this pattern of not willing to step into the unknown, not take those big leaps, and if you can't do that, you can't step into expansiveness. You can't step into those big dreams. So I'm just so glad you brought that up because our paths are very similar. And I also have a young son and also went through a rebirthing of myself. And, yeah, I think all the time, what am I modeling for my kids and what am I showing them? And how do I want to re parent myself and kind of heal old wounds through that process. So, yeah, I just deeply resonate.
And for folks out there who are like, “Okay, I am done playing small. I don't want to compare myself to others,” they are ready to leave impostor syndrome behind, which I hope is everyone who is listening right now, what does that look like for them? Can you paint a picture for everyone of what it looks like to leave imposter syndrome behind? I feel like you gave us a little taste of that, talking about freedom.
And for those who can't see your beautiful face right now, you can just feel your energy of freedom and openness and calm, but I'm curious if you can kind of talk us through it.
Yeve:
Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing your story as well. There's so much beauty in sharing stories like we're doing. You know, once you are ready to leave imposter syndrome behind I'd like you to imagine the future.You embrace your unique identity, your quirks, your flaws, and your superpowers, and you own all of that.
You are a work in progress, but you also know what you bring to the table. You speak up, and you share your perspective. Because you know that your journey, your special talents, and your individuality matter. You're ambitious, but you give yourself grace to learn, to make mistakes and to grow. You don't try to fit into other people's idea of you because you know that your story matters.
You are one of one period.
Jennie:
Oh my gosh, I got chills listening to you say that and I have decided that I am going to take that excerpt and put it in graphics and share it far and wide and tell everyone to wake up and pin this on their mirror and look in the mirror and say that to themselves when they start their day because that is just so beautiful.
And I just want everyone to know that we are all worthy of feeling this way and that you speak the truth, like what you are saying is true. The saboteur in our mind that tells us we are not enough is not speaking the truth. Yeve is the truth, everyone! Thank you. That is just, that was just so beautiful.
All right, so we are getting to a close here. I would love to know just from your experience, what are kind of the action steps someone can take if they're like, okay, yeah, that sounds good. Be nice to myself or change my stories. But how can we kind of for everyone out there who loves, a good homework assignment, what are those action steps we can take?
Yeve:
Yeah. I like to do things. You know, maybe it's because I'm the, I'm, I've got a young child, but I like to do things in like easy, repeatable, you know, patterns. And so there are three things. I want you to do each time imposter syndrome arises. They all begin with R, R E, and so it'll be easy, I hope, to remember.
So the first is realize. You stand on the shoulders of giants. You think about all the people that paved the way for you to be here today. Ancestors, history makers, mentors, champions, sponsors, everybody who was rooting for you, All of those people collectively combined, those are your giants and you stand on their shoulders.
The second one is to remember you're in the proverbial room because you've worked hard and someone with authority decided you belong there, right? Like someone said, “Oh my gosh, Jennie is awesome. We need her in the room. Yeah, they are awesome. We need her in the room.” Right?
And lastly, recognize the world needs what you have. Take up space. Use your voice.
Jennie:
You know, I love ending on these action steps and something you said earlier was just that you basically have to practice. It's an embodying. I think that carving out space to meditate or journal or go on hot girl walks or say your affirmations are all really lovely, but I think the work comes in just every moment of your life, like choosing to adopt a new programming.
And so a lot of times, again, as someone who was a perfectionist, I'm like, okay, can you give me the 10 steps? But there aren't 10 steps. Everyone has their own wiring, their own programming. And in every moment it's how do I want to show up in my power and as my full self here? And I don't know about you, but for me in doing this work, which I'm still very much in the work, has been so much of also healing my inner child and there's been so much beauty that has come from working on that imposter syndrome because, yeah, it comes from a place of like, am I worthy? Am I lovable? Can I take up space? Do I matter? And not that everyone who experiences imposter syndrome maybe comes from a moment in childhood, there can be many moments. I think that society just kind of breeds imposter syndrome, social media… there are many things that can lead to it, but for me, the practice is hard and beautiful and rewarding and so important.
So thank you for sharing all of this with us. Is there anything else, any closing words you want to leave our listeners with before we sign off today?
Yeve:
As you were talking about the practice and the work I was just thinking about something that I remind myself, and that is that I get, I get to choose. I get to do this, right? What a privilege, what a blessing. So you get to choose. You get to curate your life One step, one moment at a time.
Jennie:
Amen. That is the best place we could possibly leave this. Yeve, thank you so much for being with us today. I cannot wait for your words to reach far and wide because it's something I think just about everyone needs to hear. You are amazing and you are a light in the world. Thank you so, so much. And we'll be in touch soon.
Yeve:
Thank you so much for, for this space and the work that you're doing. You are a light, you're a force. I'm so, so glad to just be in orbit with you on this journey of all this work that we're doing.
Jennie:
Yes. Oh, thank you so much, Yeve. Talk to you soon.
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