Hello, and welcome to this article. Today, we’re going to talk about something that every developer has been feeling at least once in his or her life: Imposter Syndrome.
You know, this feeling that makes you think that you’re the least capable developer in the room, that everyone around you is smarter or more skilled than you.
That terrible sensation to think that, whatever you’re learning, you’ll never be skilled enough to make the projects you want, or work in the company you dream of. Do you recognize yourself in that?
Did you experience that as well, or are you actually living it, while reading these lines?
You’re at the right place; I’m going to give you 3 tips, that are totally personal to me, and that have been helping me a lot to overcome Imposter Syndrome and become a better and more confident developer.
Be Proud of Yourself
I know, I know, you’re going to tell me “come on Mallo, you think I’m not trying?! But I can’t! That’s above my capabilities!” And I would agree with you. Yes, if you think like that, you can’t.
But. You need to change your mind on that and realize that everyone around you, even the most successful developers, the “smartest” ones, or those who have been building massive projects, have all started from zero.
Nobody has started immediately as a master of JavaScript, nobody has had the illumination to immediately master Python or C++. They have all started from zero, they have maybe even started by learning the famous “Hello World” program.
Just like you, they struggled with themselves, struggled with the difficulties of the languages they were learning, and they maybe struggled too with Imposter Syndrome. But they overcame it. And you can too.
They don’t have a monopoly on success. If you want, you can make it. Look at yourself, look at your past achievements and the future ones waiting for you. You’re working hard, and you’re maybe learning on your own, without the accountability of school or even money.
Be proud of your path, and be proud of what you’re doing to realize your goals. Don’t make yourself your best enemy, become your best friend and support yourself on the way to success.
Slow Down and Be Patient
Sometimes, when we’re starting something, we’re excited about it and we become impatient. We want to have the results of our work immediately, and it’s even more true about programming.
We have watched many videos and read lots of articles, all describing amazing projects, with so many features, that we feel we can make right now and we start learning, we start coding, and suddenly we see that it may not be so to create the next Facebook, or make the latest AI.
So we start doubting and finally give up. Lots of promising developers have had those feelings, and I know, from my personal experience, that it can be really hard to overcome it.
In that kind of situation, the most important thing is to remain patient. You’re learning, step by step, and even without noticing it, you’re already doing a lot.
Even if you’re not totally confident about some points in a certain programming language and you’re still hesitant sometimes when typing on your code editor, look at what you’ve already achieved.
Talk to nontechnical people about what you can do, and you’ll see that in reality, you can already do a lot.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
That’s a really important point. As I said earlier, no one is born a master of JS or Python, and even more, as developers, we’re all endless learners. One essential habit to have is to ask questions whenever we get stuck on something.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions, there are no silly questions; and even if you think that it’s maybe not a good question, ask it, you’ll see that there are always people out there that will be willing to help you and will answer you.
And also, when you see someone hesitate, go and help them. You know the answer to a question but are not totally confident to give it, feeling scared that maybe you could be wrong. It’s alright, go ahead and help others.
They will be grateful to you, and you’ll feel more confident about yourself, you’ll then see that you know.
That’s all. These were my 3 small tips to help you overcome Imposter Syndrome. I hope it can help you; thank you for reading my article. I’ll be glad to see you at the next one.