August 20, 2019

🧞 Fighting the Imposter Syndrome

I’ve felt like an imposter many times during my life, even at my workplace.

Here’s what has worked for me:

• Keeping track of little wins - the likes of getting a GitHub star, a new email subscriber, etc. I don’t have a very structured process in place yet; I just track them on my Touch Bar.
• Actively seeking out feedback from your manager / peers. A room for improvement will always be there, but listening to your strengths from others can help regain confidence!
• A friend of mine told me that if you write, you’re a writer. Not an “aspiring writer”. (My medium profile still says - “Aspiring Writer”; I’m gonna change that now!)
• While reviewing talks for a conference last month, I was hesitant to provide feedback in rehearsals because I felt out of place. Then I decided to just go ahead with it and let others decide if they want to listen to me or not. Doubting yourself doesn’t do you any good.
• Googling stuff at work can bring up these feelings again. In that case, just talk about it to your peers and you’ll realize that everyone is doing it.

If nothing else, remembering the Rick & Morty quote always works:

We’re hardwired to discount ourselves. How do you deal with it?
Reply to this mail or let me know via any medium of your choice at swapnil.net

Until We Meet Again…
🖖 swap