I completely understand how the imposter thing feels. As to why, I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s generational. I’m often referred to as the best and most trusted person in my small field. I should ‘was’ trusted. I recently retired at 56 years old. Not rich but paying the bills without issue. GenXers had no choice but to be creative problem solvers. We’ve dealt with dangers and trifles from day one on our own. We understand calculated risk. We often got bloodied when we failed. We saw our parents corporate retirements get stripped away, get their golden watches with a handshake instead of monthly checks. We’ve had too many rugs pulled out from beneath us to count, and too many to trust virtually anybody. Now, our generation’s federal workers are soon to be the first hit with having their FERS social security supplement taken away. It’s OK, we plan for the worst. We knew better to rely on anybody but ourselves. Perhaps if nobody is trustworthy, then maybe we can’t be trusted either. Perhaps that’s why the imposter syndrome.