Why do I suck at everything?
The story
I swear, every day I walk into the office and feel like I’m just waiting to get exposed. Like someone’s gonna tap me on the shoulder and be like, “Hey, we figured it out—you actually don’t belong here.” And honestly? I’d just nod and say, “Yeah, I know.” Because that’s exactly how I feel. I’m a junior consultant in a huge, fast-moving company, and from the outside, it probably looks like I’m doing okay. But inside? I feel like I suck at everything. Every task I touch feels like a mess. Every presentation, every slide, every email I send—I triple check it, and I still feel like I’m doing it wrong. Everyone else looks so confident, so sharp and put-together, and I’m here Googling basic Excel formulas and hoping no one notices I’m not contributing anything meaningful in meetings.
What makes it worse is that I try. Like, I’m not slacking. I stay late sometimes, I take notes, I ask questions (even though I feel stupid every time I do), and I keep telling myself I’ll get better. But I don’t feel better. I feel like I’m falling behind. When I get feedback, it’s always polite, but it’s never great. Stuff like “make sure you think through the structure more” or “watch your attention to detail”—basically, “you’re not doing well enough.” And I get it! They’re not wrong. I’m constantly redoing things, missing stuff, asking for clarifications on things I should’ve understood. It’s embarrassing. I keep wondering if this job is just too much for me, like maybe I’m not cut out for it. Maybe I faked it through the interview and now the truth is showing.
Sometimes I think about quitting. Like, just walking away and saving myself the daily stress and anxiety of feeling like I’m disappointing everyone. But then I wonder, what would I even do instead? I worked so hard to get here. Years of school, internships, interviews, all that effort just to feel like I’m drowning in a sea of “you’re not enough.” And it’s not like I don’t care—I care too much, honestly. I overthink every assignment. I draft emails and then stare at them for ten minutes, rewriting the same sentence four times. And then I see someone else send a message in thirty seconds and it’s perfect. I can’t help but compare myself to everyone around me. I know I shouldn’t, but when everyone seems to be thriving and you’re the only one struggling to keep up, how do you not?
I talk to my friends outside of work and they tell me I’m being too hard on myself. That it’s just imposter syndrome. That everyone feels this way when they start out. And yeah, maybe they’re right, but that doesn’t change how it feels. It doesn’t change the panic I get when I’m asked to “own” a task, when in my head I’m screaming “please don’t give me that responsibility.” I want to be good at this. I want to feel confident. But right now I just feel small. Like a mistake. Like a bad hire. It’s exhausting carrying this weight of not being good enough day after day, especially when you have to pretend like everything’s fine because everyone around you seems so capable and strong.
I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t know how to stop feeling like I suck at everything. Maybe I need more time, maybe I need to fail a few more times to really learn. Or maybe I need to find something that fits me better, something that doesn’t make me feel so incompetent all the time. But until then, I guess I’ll just keep showing up, trying again, even if I’m convinced I’ll mess it up. Because I don’t know what else to do. And maybe, just maybe, one day I’ll wake up and feel like I’m actually okay at something. Or at least not terrible. I’d settle for that.
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Points of view
Wow, that was really relatable. I can totally resonate with your experience of feeling like an "imposter", it’s like that constant fear of being "found out" in the corporate world never goes away. The grind, especially in consulting, is relentless, and you're definitely not alone in overanalyzing deliverables or stressing about KPIs.
When I was a junior analyst, I too felt inadequate, overwhelmed by the expectations and the steep learning curve. Felt impossible to keep up with those seemingly infallible colleagues. Do you think we're sometimes too harsh on ourselves, expecting instant mastery in such a competitive environment? Maybe it’s a sign that consulting is overly demanding. But perhaps consistency over time could bring some clarity. Keep going, although it's taxing, growth does appear, sometimes subtly.
I know exactly what you're going through! Imposter syndrome is really common, especially in fast-paced environments like consulting; the pressure to perform and keep up can be intense. It's like you're expected to be a pro at everything from day one. Triple-checking work, googling simple Excel functions, I've been there too. It’s hard when you're surrounded by people who seem to have it all together, but often they're also just trying to manage. You’re clearly putting in effort and that counts. Sometimes it's about giving yourself time to adjust and learn without being too hard on yourself.
Keep trying, and don’t hesitate to ask for help when needed!!
imposter syndrome is insidious, isn't it? your experience in the consulting industry is all too familiar; the relentless pressure to excel is often unbearable. one might argue that your feelings of inadequacy are justified within such a demanding environment. "Fake it till you make it" seems to be a futile approach when tasks are piling up and colleagues are thriving effortlessly. your constant self-doubt and anxiety reflect the brutal reality of the corporate machine that often exploits rather than nurtures. it is reasonable to question whether this path is sustainable or if a gradual erosion of self-worth is inevitable. perhaps introspection and reevaluation of priorities are overdue.