IMPOSTER SYNDROME: THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM.
Have you ever felt unqualified, inexperienced, scared, or foolish at best when trying out something new? If you haven’t, that’s fantastic, because I know I have, a lot actually. Take my case for instance: I call myself a software developer, though I’m still young in the field and learning (I do believe learning is a lifelong process), which means that there is definitely a lot in technology I do not know, even as terms get thrown my way, such as React, Vue, React Native, Docker, Kubernetes, etc. You already get the drift here, there is definitely a lot of knowledge consumption to be done, and definitely a lot more I don’t even know about yet.
Just about two weeks ago I began on a personal project, an educational Android application to be more specific. During the initial research phase for this project, I knew Java could do this specific task very well, as it one of the recommended programming languages to do so, and more importantly because it the only programming language I knew, apart from JavaScript. Yet as I did more research, I came across another fast-rising language called Kotlin, which I did not comprehend much of. I was at a crossroads at this point, as to whether I should put off my project until a later time, till I learned this new ‘shiny’ language called Kotlin, or whether I should just progress onward and use whatever resources I had at my disposal. In short, with all my research, I ended up feeling really unqualified to do anything.
And the truth is, this situation does not even have to apply to programming or technology alone, it could be in a workplace where you get a promotion you feel you do not deserve. Or you could even be blogging or writing as I am, and you ask yourself if it is really necessary to do so, as there are TONS of similar blog posts out there. Or you could have bagged an opportunity to talk to a multitude of people, yet you feel like an imposter of sorts.
“I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. … “I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody and they’re going to find me out”. — Maya Angelou
Well, the real truth is that you are not alone, and plenty of people have this feeling too, even more so the ones who you feel deep down have got their act together.
This post by Wayne Sutton should help you put matters into more context and perspective. The main point that I would like to drive home is that it is okay not to feel okay, and that progress towards self-improvement, self-fulfillment, and self-acceptance, no matter how little, is always better than no progress at all.
“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident, and more and more successful.” — Mark Victor Hansen
That said, after a lot of thinking, I did come up with a few basic facts that have helped me specifically in my programming journey, and I’m sure they could help you too.
- Acknowledgment: In the end, I did come to acknowledge that I had an irrational fear of progress in general, a sort of force that wanted me to feel all secure and comfy in the comfort zone. Not that acknowledging this fear has completely solved the problem, but it makes it easier to delve into that project, talk, or blog with more peace of mind.
2. Positivity: Fear, as we all know, tends to project negative thoughts into our minds, making us question why we pursue new endeavors. The only way we can beat that is with pure positivity. Take my case for instance: I had mentioned some terms earlier like React, Vue, and React Native. Turns out the common link between them is a programming language I can comprehend and that I’m practicing at, which is JavaScript. Even the Kotlin I had mentioned earlier is a breeze now, not that I have particularly learned it, but because I found out that it’s syntax and that of Java is somehow similar, and that they both run on the same virtual machine. So picking up the language will not be as hard as I thought. All in all, my worries now seem like a silly thought.
“We walk around all our lives thinking about things that will never happen. We worry, dread, and fear what hasn’t happened and what probably never will.” — Mark Twain.
3. Always learn: This I believe is the most crucial step. Even as you or I continue with our creative work, writing, leadership, etc, we should always acknowledge that we do not know everything and that each new endeavor presents with it another opportunity to learn. It is for this very reason that I still read blogs or books to acquire knowledge, attend meetups to network and acquire the much needed technical knowledge, and actively Google errors or new concepts to learn from others on the web. Even with my app project, I cannot say I am done, as I am always researching on how to integrate concepts I have in mind. That to me is okay because I’m always learning and making some progress, which will always be better than none.
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. The unexamined life is not worth living. There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.” — Socrates.
Imposter syndrome is definitely an imposter (pun intended) that tends to cling onto us and blind us. But if we adopt a curious mind, one that always wants to venture outward, learn more and do more, then that imposter will have nothing to cling onto.
