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Sotiris Kourouklis
Sotiris Kourouklis

Posted on • Updated on • Originally published at sotergreco.com

Why Impostor Syndrome Isn't Real

You've heard it again and again, impostor syndrome, as its name implies, is when you feel like an impostor. In other words, it is when you feel like you are stuck and not improving, and no progress is being made despite the fact that you are studying and working daily.

Where does that originate from, and how can you get rid of it?

Story

Being a Senior Engineer, I have some mentees. One of them, when he was starting with programming, felt he was not making progress, even though I could see he was improving.

After creating his first full-stack CRUD application, he understood his progress. But along the way, when he was 60% there, he thought he hadn't learned anything. He only realized his progress after finishing the application.

Understanding this, it is important to know that setting goals, completing them, and then reflecting on your progress will help you see that impostor syndrome is just a fabrication of your mind.

Also, most people who have impostor syndrome give up midway through their tasks. If they didn't give up and finished what they started then they will realise that progress has been made and after all they are not impostors at all.

Origin Of Impostor Syndrome

Modern psychology implies that believing in yourself is the core of improvement, as most people with psychological problems, anxiety, etc., suffer from a lack of confidence. At first glance, it seems logical, although that is not true.

I will now tell you that you should put yourself last and have no trust in him. Humans are only capable of mistakes. Jesus Christ is the only one you should put your trust on. It doesn't matter if you are a programmer but He can fix any problem that you have.

The routine I follow involves waking up every morning and trying my best in every area of human endeavour. By improving yourself in other fields besides web development; like exercising, reading books, or practicing soft skills like patience, you can gain the things you need to overcome impostor syndrome.

Think Out Of The Box

By working more and more as a developer, your problems won't go away. There are more important things in life. Whether you realize it or not, upon waking up, you are in a spiritual war. You have to overcome obstacles and demons.

The better you become at fighting them, the better developer you become. If you extrapolate outside your developer mindset, you will understand that by improving your soft skills, you will become a better developer.

I try to keep my day full and be consistent with work. In the long run, consistency always wins. Just ignore how you feel. Feelings are there to motivate you or break you.

Final Words

I know this article went from a programming-related topic to a spiritual warfare and motivation article. Although we need to keep in mind that programming isn't a closed ecosystem and the psychology of the developer plays a really important role in your code output and the quality of your work.

So keeping yourself psychologically strong will give you advantages over other developers and finally help you overcome things like Impostor Syndrome, which in the end are signs of a weak personality. Being weak is not a bad thing; the bad thing is being weak and not wanting to improve and become better.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you found this article helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at kourouklis@pm.me, and I will respond.

You can also keep up with my latest updates by checking out my X here: x.com/sotergreco

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