This has gone on long enough, and I had a simple explanation for it: fear of failure. It made me wonder whether I was really afraid of failing at all, or afraid of what failing might say to the people whose good opinion I’d come to depend on. While handling multiple pressing projects at once, she realised she wasn’t afraid of the work itself. Story continues below this adWhat distinguishes this from ordinary fear of failure, she argues, is precisely its relational core. Fear of failure is about falling short of your own bar; imposter syndrome is the suspicion that your achievements were flukes waiting to be exposed.