You really made a great point when you mentioned job security. I think my impostor syndrome is most prevalent when I feel like my job is in jeopardy. For that matter, any type of insecurity will trigger it. Most often those insecurities come from things out of my control.
The first step in combating these feelings in my experience is acknowledging the things I have no control over at that moment. For example, I don't have control over whether or not I will still have my job tomorrow. I don't have the ability to magically acquire the skills I need for a daunting task. I don't have the knowledge and experience that I feel I need to complete a task or meet my own expectations.
AND THAT IS OK
What I can learn from these things and how can I take advantage of my own impostor syndrome? These feelings reveal to me where I have space to learn and grow. They can help me set clear goals for myself to work towards. If I am patient with myself, I can learn to put these things into words. Ideally, I can then seek out the help I need to reach my goals.
This has been said many times, but communicating my feelings has almost always been the most beneficial thing I could have ever done. As we hopefully have realized, 99% of developers experience these feelings regularly. So being open about our struggles can help us immensely in calming our fears and finding solidarity. It will also open conversation to reveal how others can help you and also show you how you can help others. Even if your technical skills are inferior to others, something that is not acknowledged enough is that being a developer is so much more than solely being a coder. There are so many different soft and hard skills that you might have, that no other person on your team has. These things often only are revealed when we start communicating our fears as well as our passions.
That said - I had a job once, where I risked being honest about my fears and feelings of being an impostor. I ended up being fired from that job eventually for not being fast enough at my job and not having enough output. But I would not change a thing. If you are part of a team that does not allow you to have faults and does not encourage talking about your failures or even your fear of failure is not a team I recommend you continue working with. Do you know how they say "choose your friends wisely"? The same goes for the team you work with and the companies you work for. I know it is not always easy to just risk your job, especially when you have a family to feed or are just getting by in your personal life. I am not sure I have a complete answer for that.
But after being fired, I realized that I am so much better off than if they hadn't. Now I work in a team of people who are open, honest and so helpful. Acknowledging and communicating my fears helps those around me know where they can challenge me, it helps my team communicate their expectations and helps us agree on what is and isn't possible. My insecurities are met with constructive insight, that gives me a reference to measure my skills and my progress.
The steps we can take are always risky. The way our fellow developers and bosses react to the steps we take says more about them than about you.
I’m Mónica, a FE Developer with a biology degree. We are always on time to reinvent ourselves✨ My goal is to inspire you and help follow your dreams
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Thanks @monicafidalgo ! I hope this topic can be something we are all more open, honest, and vulnerable about so hopefully everyone can benefit from each other's experiences!
Wow, Thomas - thank you so much for sharing this, really appreciate it 🙏 Kudos to you for being so brave and open, that must have been difficult in a work environment where it was not valued. I love what you said about things being outside our control and having to accept that. In the end, that's what it comes down to, isnt?
Thanks Josefine :) Yes, I think there is so much value to be had and so much to learn from the situations where we feel most afraid and unqualified. That is where we grow and where we can start to define who we want to be as people and also as developers or whatever we happen to be doing professionally. In my opinion, fearing the things that are out of our control is what holds us back the most instead of taking advantage of great opportunities to grow.
That said....@josefine this meetup I am supposed to do next week is REALLY giving me impostor feelings....I have no idea what I should present and no idea how to either. Feeling very nervous about this one :D
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You really made a great point when you mentioned job security. I think my impostor syndrome is most prevalent when I feel like my job is in jeopardy. For that matter, any type of insecurity will trigger it. Most often those insecurities come from things out of my control.
The first step in combating these feelings in my experience is acknowledging the things I have no control over at that moment. For example, I don't have control over whether or not I will still have my job tomorrow. I don't have the ability to magically acquire the skills I need for a daunting task. I don't have the knowledge and experience that I feel I need to complete a task or meet my own expectations.
AND THAT IS OK
What I can learn from these things and how can I take advantage of my own impostor syndrome? These feelings reveal to me where I have space to learn and grow. They can help me set clear goals for myself to work towards. If I am patient with myself, I can learn to put these things into words. Ideally, I can then seek out the help I need to reach my goals.
This has been said many times, but communicating my feelings has almost always been the most beneficial thing I could have ever done. As we hopefully have realized, 99% of developers experience these feelings regularly. So being open about our struggles can help us immensely in calming our fears and finding solidarity. It will also open conversation to reveal how others can help you and also show you how you can help others. Even if your technical skills are inferior to others, something that is not acknowledged enough is that being a developer is so much more than solely being a coder. There are so many different soft and hard skills that you might have, that no other person on your team has. These things often only are revealed when we start communicating our fears as well as our passions.
That said - I had a job once, where I risked being honest about my fears and feelings of being an impostor. I ended up being fired from that job eventually for not being fast enough at my job and not having enough output. But I would not change a thing. If you are part of a team that does not allow you to have faults and does not encourage talking about your failures or even your fear of failure is not a team I recommend you continue working with. Do you know how they say "choose your friends wisely"? The same goes for the team you work with and the companies you work for. I know it is not always easy to just risk your job, especially when you have a family to feed or are just getting by in your personal life. I am not sure I have a complete answer for that.
But after being fired, I realized that I am so much better off than if they hadn't. Now I work in a team of people who are open, honest and so helpful. Acknowledging and communicating my fears helps those around me know where they can challenge me, it helps my team communicate their expectations and helps us agree on what is and isn't possible. My insecurities are met with constructive insight, that gives me a reference to measure my skills and my progress.
The steps we can take are always risky. The way our fellow developers and bosses react to the steps we take says more about them than about you.
Wow @thomas_sweet thanks so much for sharing such an honest testimonial! Truly appreciate it!
Thanks @monicafidalgo ! I hope this topic can be something we are all more open, honest, and vulnerable about so hopefully everyone can benefit from each other's experiences!
Wow, Thomas - thank you so much for sharing this, really appreciate it 🙏 Kudos to you for being so brave and open, that must have been difficult in a work environment where it was not valued. I love what you said about things being outside our control and having to accept that. In the end, that's what it comes down to, isnt?
Thanks Josefine :) Yes, I think there is so much value to be had and so much to learn from the situations where we feel most afraid and unqualified. That is where we grow and where we can start to define who we want to be as people and also as developers or whatever we happen to be doing professionally. In my opinion, fearing the things that are out of our control is what holds us back the most instead of taking advantage of great opportunities to grow.
That said....@josefine this meetup I am supposed to do next week is REALLY giving me impostor feelings....I have no idea what I should present and no idea how to either. Feeling very nervous about this one :D