Elle Halliwell: “Imposter Syndrome is well and truly alive in me”
She’s achieved a lot in her 33 years - written a book, carved out a career as one of the country’s best known fashion journalists, interviewed scores of high-profile actors and celebrities on TV and radio - but Sydney journalist Elle Halliwell is the first to admit, her success hasn't always sat comfortably.
“Imposter syndrome is well and truly alive in me,” she told WHO editor, Keshnee Kemp, in a candid chat for the Raw Talks podcast.
“It’s one of those questions where you still question if you’re doing enough; whether you really are as capable as other people perceive you.”
Halliwell, who two years ago fought a very public battle with cancer (she was diagnosed just two days before she found out she was pregnant), said that the years leading up to that seismic life-altering diagnosis were sometimes difficult, as she wrestled with a feeling she didn’t quite belong in the ritzy world of fashion and entertainment.
She believes Imposter Syndrome is a very real concern for young, successful women.
“What I would say to anyone who is still quite young - sometimes all of us, we fumble around sometimes; we don’t always get it right. And I think that while confidence does comes with age, there is still that niggling thing in the back of your mind like, ‘Am I good enough?’”
She says as she got older, and more comfortable in her own skin, she learnt to quieten the voice in her head.
“You get a little more confident in telling that little voice to f-off,” she says.
Listen to the entire Raw Talks conversation between Elle Halliwell and Keshnee Kemp below.
