Imposter syndrome is a feeling in software development. Not only does beginners or mid-level developers face this problem, but also the experienced coders.
Imposter Syndrome can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist even in the face of information that indicates that the opposite is true. It is experienced internally as chronic self-doubt, and feelings of intellectual fraudulence.
How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome
Keep track of your accomplishments
Reflect regularly on your successes, that will help you of how far you’ve come and how good you are. This will help balance the scales of positive vs negative self-talk that is the heart of imposter syndrome.
One good way to do that is to make a recurring calendar appointment for the end of every week to add all accomplishments from that to a “portfolio” of accomplishments. Even if something eventually failed, if you attempted something outside your comfort zone, write it down. It was a great experience.
In addition to capturing your weekly accomplishments, you should also take a few minutes to reflect on past accomplishments and add any from the previous months that you forgot. Also, don’t just write them down and read them. You need to truly reflect on what went into that accomplishments and how you felt about it.
Bonus Tip: You can actually use that portfolio to boost your résumé or LinkedIn portfolio to help you get jobs in the future.
Get feedback from your mentors and seniors
Imposter syndrome thrives when all you do is think. One of the things you need to do is get out of your head to combat the Imposter Syndrome.
Whenever you get stuck in your code or need help in understanding some algorithms or design choice, get help from your seniors. It doesn’t make you a fool. When you ask how the product works, or how their QA process works for the new project, it’s not a dumb question. Remember, it’s okay to ask for help.
Plan your career goals to reduce doubt
A lot of self-induced imposter syndrome can be due to the unknown when looking ahead. To combat this, you should get goals and plan your career path. This will provide your confidence when making career decisions and deciding what skills to learn and focus on.
Instead of looking at how you learn, you need to look at what you want to do eventually. What industry, technology, language, company do you want to work in for. Then, using that information you will find out what you need to learn.
Conclusion
A lot of developers suffer from imposter syndrome. You need to understand that it’s normal and you are not alone. Doubting your accomplishment and feeling like a bad programmer is completely normal. Understand that it’s impossible to know everything every time. You don’t need to run from imposter syndrome, embrace it and just consider this as an opportunity to learn something new that aligns with your goals.
This feature is originally appeared in hackernoon.
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