Because no one really talks about the silent phases of self-doubt, confusion, and slow progress.
Hey DEV community 👋,
This post isn’t about frameworks, tools, or algorithms.
It’s about that feeling you get when you open your laptop and ask yourself—
“Am I even doing enough?”
“Why am I not as fast as others?”
“Is it too late for me to become something?”
If you’ve ever felt like you're lagging behind in programming, your career, or just life in general—you're not alone.
I’ve been there. Maybe I still am. Maybe we all are, at different stages.
🌀 Let’s talk about the “invisible phases” of growth:
- When you spend weeks learning, but build nothing.
- When you doubt if you're even on the right track.
- When your friends seem way ahead, and you feel... stuck.
You scroll LinkedIn or DEV posts and see success stories—
Meanwhile, you’re figuring out how to write a clean loop or push code to GitHub.
But here's the thing no one says enough:
Not every season is about output. Some are just about becoming.
🎓 To every student, learner, or career switcher reading this:
- You’re not late. You’re on your path.
- Everyone’s timeline is different—even if the internet says otherwise.
- You’re allowed to feel lost, slow, unsure… and still be on track.
💬 Let’s open up:
What do you wish someone had told you earlier in your learning journey?
Or…
If you could go back in time, what would you say to your “just-starting-out” self?
Drop it in the comments—
Whether it’s a one-line reminder or a full story, your words matter.
You never know who needs to hear exactly your experience today.
Let’s be real. Let’s be kind. Let’s learn out loud.
Top comments (11)
I wish I had worked more on my technical skills, learning new things and building stuff, and been more active in local user groups. I left a job I wasn't happy with and struggled to find work. Now, instead of being a senior level programmer nearing the end of my career, I'm still trying to break into the field more or less at an entry level.
Thank you so much for sharing your journey.
It’s truly valuable for learners like me to hear this kind of honest reflection.
Your words carry wisdom, and I deeply respect the strength it takes to keep moving forward.
I remember when I started learning to code, after learning some JavaScript, I was so afraid of following tutorials because I was afraid of reading code that I don't understand, because that will show my big ego that I don't know enough and will reveal how much of an imposter I am and that I will never succeed. So it's like I was afraid to learn, because that would show I am not good enough, so if I am not good enough for this, why keep going? So I would just tell myself: don't panic, be patient, keep going, you are enough. I would tell myself to also work on my emotional stack, not only on tech stack.
I totally related to this. That fear of not knowing enough can really hold you back. But reminding yourself to be patient and work on the emotional stack too - that's powerful. Keep going.
Posts like this keep DEV human. The struggle is universal—but so is the growth. Keep going, everyone!
Absolutely, we are all figuring things out. the struggle makes the growth real. keep pushing forward, everyone!
I’m also on my journey to build something out of what I’m learning, and doubt definitely creeps in sometimes. But I always remind myself that I genuinely love building things — and that love is what keeps me going.
You're definitely not alone — thanks for sharing this, I really needed to hear it too.
Thanks a lot for your comment! I feel the same — doubt comes in sometimes, but the love for building and learning keeps me going too. I'm really glad this post helped you. We're all in this together!
Some comments may only be visible to logged-in visitors. Sign in to view all comments.