
Ask HN: What ways have worked for you to overcome 'imposter syndrome'? - good_vibes
I&#x27;m doing the best I can by improving each day, still feel like I have so much to learn every time I see the front page of HN.
======
timborden
I found reading The Gifts of Imperfection
([https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4KQI11](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4KQI11)),
by Brene Brown, really helped reframe "imposter syndrome" for me.

“Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be your best.
Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect, and act
perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgement, and shame.
It’s a shield. It’s a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will
protect us when, in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from
flight.”

You feel less like an imposter when you realise that nobody is perfect. You
can embrace your imperfections and be satisfied with who you are today.

As a side note, this "Ask HN" question is one of the many reason I enjoy
reading HN. It's a vulnerable question that has provoked several honest and
thoughtful answers. It's not a "Top 10 way to overcome imposter syndrome" blog
post...there's no link baiting or profit to be made. I suspect that asking the
question will go along way to making the OP feel a lot better...it's tough to
feel like an imposter when the response from the community is so positive.

~~~
epicide
That quote is fantastic. Definitely gonna check out the whole book.

Another book that sounds similar is The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
([https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019MMUA8S](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019MMUA8S)).
I don't know exactly how it compares to The Gifts of Imperfection as I haven't
read the latter. The former talks about how you aren't as special as you have
been told and how that's not only perfectly okay, but really freeing.

You learn to forgive yourself once you get over yourself. Stop acting like you
can be some perfect being and have a happy life if you just: earn lots of
money, get that fancy car, get married, etc. They won't make you happy in and
of themselves.

The same goes for your career, too. Some things are going to suck and that's
okay. You can't fix everything and "you only have so many fucks to give". You
have to constantly decide what to give a fuck about and stop giving a fuck
about things you don't. That last part sounds redundant, but can be hard to
actually do.

~~~
timborden
Thanks for the recommendation! ....+1 for the generous use of fuck

~~~
epicide
Haha you'll enjoy the book, then.

------
sgentle
I believe impostor syndrome comes from wanting to feel something that it's
impossible to feel.

When you look at someone successful, you think "wow, that person is amazing,
look how great they are!" But do you think they feel that way about
themselves? Idolisation is something you can do to someone else, but, unless
you have very severe narcissism, not to yourself.

So, much the same way you can't write a book that gives you the feeling of
reading a book, or create a product that gives you the feeling of using a
product, you won't ever feel about yourself the way you feel about the people
you look up to. You're getting the process confused with the output.

There is one exception, which is that if you surround yourself with people who
idolise you, you can see it a bit reflected in their eyes. Most of the people
who do this don't seem very happy, though. Probably best to just give up on
ever feeling like you've made it and instead learn to enjoy the endless
process of getting there.

~~~
toomanyrichies
I've heard this referred to as "comparing your insides to someone else's
outsides". As a journeyman software engineer, I still catch myself doing it
and have to remind myself that it's unproductive.

~~~
katpas
That's a really interesting way to think about that, I haven't heard that
before.

------
wallflower
My personal opinion, like some of the others, is diversify out of tech. You
can still work in tech, of course, and I suggest to stop putting all your
hopes/desires/fears into the "tech" basket. Try investing in a non-tech
project/venture like: woodworking, dancing, public speaking, rock climbing,
organizing, run for office, volunteer, teach, coach sports, throw dinner
parties, learn a spoken language, learn to draw, design an album cover, do
street art, unicycle, juggle, start a band, foster animals, etc... Investing
in tech has diminishing returns, pun intended. If you choose to go this way,
try to detach yourself from deadlines and monetary compensation. If something
has deadlines or monetary compensation attached, it is not a hobby, it is a
part-time job (or worse). Accept that competition, even if you succeed in
getting better, becomes asymptotic as you approach the right side of the curve
- you will likely never be a Jeff Dean or Shel Kaplan or Bill Joy or Dave
Cutler, eat some Jimmy Dean for breakfast... Celebrate your unique abilities.
And share your life with others: some of my poor (usually liberal arts major
friends) have a rich network of diverse friends and acquaintances that makes
their life interesting.

Good luck!

"A Cup of Tea"

> Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a
> university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He
> poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor
> watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is
> overfull. No more will go in!” “Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full
> of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you
> first empty your cup?”

~~~
good_vibes
This really hits home because if you look at my post history, a little over a
100 days ago I was wanting to create something to compete with Facebook
because I saw it as Big Brother. Since getting rejected by YC, I've been
forced to reexamine myself and let a lot of delusions and habits go. I quit
drinking, smoking, meat, sugar. I have $0 debt (credit card or student loan or
car or home or medical). I've gotten rid of as many of my possessions as
possible. I've cleaned out much of my social media feeds and the amount of
news I read as well.

I'm really passionate about exploring the outdoors, photography (landscape and
wildlife), writing about self-actualization, learning about history (reading
'1491' right now).

I've been helping two people I know with building a business online, one is a
dog clothing company and the other is a film composer from NYU. I hope to
scale this into an agency where I can work remotely while helping interesting
people becoming financially independent doing what they love. It adds
fulfillment to my life knowing I have skills to help them.

This thread has helped me so much, I don't even know how to thank the
community. :)

~~~
Double_a_92
Don't live in extremes man... Just relax. If you want a beer drink one. If you
want chocolate eat some. Just don't overdo it.

~~~
52-6F-62
I'd like to second this, as its under appreciated by the public at large. So
many failed New Years resolutions for improving oneself can be pinned to this
point.

Anecdotally:

I've been trying to lose some weight, and one of the first things I moved to
do was drop drinking (as most resources on weight loss will tell you to do).
It was very tough to do because I love my beer. I found the process was making
me miserable.

Sure if I leave the beer out of the equation my calorie deficit would grow,
but including some beer still keeps me at a deficit regardless so that I still
am losing 2-3 lbs a week, and very much happier all the while then if I was
losing more and more quickly.

edit: except for the smoking. That's a slippery slope.

------
hajak
I would say it never goes away. I have built companies, angel invested, ran
M&A. Still, I always think I am clueless.

I am starting to view it more as a power. "You cannot learn what you already
think you know". Having imposter's syndrome means I always will fight harder
to get better.

~~~
good_vibes
This makes me feel a lot better. I have a fear of being 'called out' one day
by people who are 'experts'.

I like to always remind myself 'in the beginner's mind there are many
possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few'.

~~~
KineticLensman
What is the difference between a novice and an expert?

The novice thinks twice before doing something stupid

------
lmg643
IMHO imposter syndrome isn't a "thing" or if it is, it's a few things:

1) You just got your first job and you are right out of school. They call you
a "programmer" or "analyst" etc, but you don't know the profession or business
and don't know what you're capable of. You'll outgrow it by hard work and
learning.

2) The feeling many experts have after a long career that "any smart person
could do this if they had the time and inclination". It's usually not true
(because they overestimate capabilities of others, assuming they are like
them), but I think it feeds into the humility you often see among the truly
capable.

3) People who have remunerative yet non-productive jobs where you can get paid
lots of money but your production is very abstract or secondary or even
tertiary (or worse) to your direct output. This is the kind of person who
talks about imposter syndrome at TED talks.

I have to think that what we call "imposter syndrome" is, in at least 25% of
cases, and extremely useful internal guide that you need to step up your
output. The solution is to do work where the direct output is something
useful.

~~~
caser
While I respect your opinion, I think that there are a large number of people
who struggle with the feeling of not having accomplished anything / not being
"good enough" even in be face of what most would consider career success.

Psychology has some terminology for this: cognitive distortions, and in
particular, minimization and magnification. Whether it's due to upbringing,
environment, what have you, some large number of people tend to discount their
successes and zero in on whatever they see as their flaws or failures.

The field of CBT is one way to work with this. I particularly like the book
"Learned Optimism" by Martin Seligman, which talks about how the stories we
tell ourselves about success and failure lead to happiness / optimism or
depression / pessimism. He also talks about some of the research that's been
done to help change peoples' explanatory style.

This + meditation has been helpful to me, as well as trying to take other
peoples' positive feedback to heart more, rather than discounting it as
politeness.

Also, although I think it can be helpful to produce things, I feel like your
advice can feed into the story of "not doing enough," even if they are. There
probably are some people who feel this way because they're actually not doing
much, but I feel like a lot of the people on this site are more likely to be
the types with unrealistically high standards whose problems are not their
output, but their perception of their output.

On that note, spending less time on HN and more time with friends / family /
doing other things you enjoy can also be helpful, as it helps to diversify
your identity.

~~~
superasn
This is rather good advice. To add to that I would recommend reading Feeling
good by David burns. It has a lot of exercises, especially the Vertical Arrow
technique that can really help OP.

~~~
good_vibes
Will read it after I finish 'Reinventing Your Life', another book that was
recommended to me.

------
dsmithatx
Having been a unix admin, dev and now devops for 25+ years I'd say, Be calm
and carry on. Always admit what you don't know, RTFM when in doubt, and never
stop learning.

Everyone understands the vast amount of information we must learn and known
one expects you to know it all. Don't interview for a job looking for an
expert at something you know the basics about.

I think imposter syndrome comes feeling insecure about not fully understanding
things. The only way you can be an imposter is to act like one. People will
respect you for saying, I'm not sure, let me go look into that.

Our job isn't to know everything. It is to a be a badass at quickly figuring
things out. Focus on learning how to quickly find answers and solve problems
and not being a master at everything.

It has taking me decades of mastering everything to realize how much time I
wasted. I hire people half my age now who can do as good of a job as I can.
Some of them are afraid and can't seem to get things done. They feel in over
their head and shut down.

Other people come in and they know a few things but, don't understand others.
The are confident they can learn everything and don't freak out. They quickly
become ninjas in many areas simply because they aren't afraid and not trying
to fake it.

After interviewing well over 100 Devops recruits I can tell what type of
person they are 90% of the time in interviews. I don't look for an expert at
one thing. I look for people with some experience with some tech we use.
People who can stay at a job more than 2 years and, people who have shown they
can master a few complex systems.

~~~
good_vibes
Thanks, this perspective will help a lot as I continue learning React and UX,
and start applying to jobs again.

The biggest things I'm seeing in this thread is I should make meditation a
stronger habit, it will help me focus on the task at hand and not let my mind
take me out of 'beginner's mind', the state of mind where learning/building
are most effective.

------
droopybuns
Get older.

Also- understand that there is a big difference between competency and
imposter syndrome. A lot of young people confuse the concepts.

Competency means you knows the limits of your knowledge. Expertise means you
know one thing exceptionally well. It is easy to stumble into competency- and
people around you will mistake it for expertise. When this happens, you will
feel like you are impostering. This is because you know the subject well
enough to recognize the inaccuracy of your celebratory peers.

Be calm and be patient.

------
notadoc
Eventually you will realize that you know absolutely nothing, and it's
liberating.

Even if you're considered a relative expert on a particular topic or subject,
there is usually no end to learning more about it. That's the humbling beauty
of learning. Just stay curious and stay interested. Losing your ego in regards
to your knowledge (rather, your lack of knowledge) feels pretty good and
reduces that pressure you may feel now.

~~~
good_vibes
Very true. Reminds me of Socrates. After reading this thread, I feel a lot
better knowing that this is something any self-aware person struggles with.

I'm getting more into Zen Buddhism at the moment and 'beginner's mind' is the
closest state of mind to enlightenment. Experts often struggle the most
because of the weight of their ego.

------
ytjohn
Conducting interviews really helps put things in perspective. Or, once someone
is hired, attempting to delegate some of your work to them.

Alternatively, try picturing what you would do to train people for the work
you do. Think about people you know (even marginally) that are in the same
field as you, and then try to figure out who could do as good of a job as you,
or identify what they would have to learn. It's in scenarios like this, you
realize just how much you know - not just about your particular job, but about
your field in general.

On the flip side, you really don't want to be irreplaceable, and if you find
yourself doing a lot of work because you think it will take longer to explain
the task than to do it yourself, then you've got other problems to work on.

------
fakeacc03245
Go somewhere filled with incompetence. That'll fix it. In all seriousness
though it is a bad feeling, but like fear it keeps you on your toes.

------
nissimk
I like to publicly discuss my shortcomings. I try not to do it too much
because I don't want everybody I work with to think I'm an idiot. Sometimes I
use self deprecating humor. Sometimes I just act brave enough to ask stupid
questions in a public forum. And sometimes I try to discuss the difficulties
I'm having with technical issues also in a public forum. Generally people are
really nice and want to help.

Also, I refuse to believe the hype about almost anyone that people believe to
be great programmers. There's usually a facade and glaring holes in their
knowledge.

When stuff is difficult to do technically for me, I like to complain about it.
It makes me feel better and forms comraderie with my colleagues. If it's hard
for me, it's probably hard for everybody. And if not then there's some sort of
trick that they know and I don't. An example of this is when the c++ compiler
gives pages of indecipherable output for using the wrong type in a template
argument.

------
sethammons
What really helped me was 360 anonymous peer reviews. In our case, you picked
a sample of folks across teams and functions that you've worked with and ask
for a review. They put down strengths and areas of opportunity for growth.
Seeing grouped text for my strengths and weaknesses was really enlightening. I
could agree with points of needed growth in many cases and the positive
section showed that folks who work with me appreciate me and value my
knowledge. Humbling all around.

These were a very important step for overcoming a large part of my imposter
syndrome. Critical. Later, mentoring junior devs, representing my team in
meetings, conducting interviews, doing deeper research into my domains and
spreading that knowledge have all helped to reduce my feeling of being an
imposter. Knowing that it is ok to not know everything, to ask questions and
for help, and to strive to close those gaps. But all this, for me, paled in
comparison to the 360 reviews.

------
giancarlostoro
One thing I loved about the PyBee project is they have a whole page on this:

[https://pybee.org/contributing/how/first-time/imposter-
syndr...](https://pybee.org/contributing/how/first-time/imposter-syndrome/)

It's not overtly detailed but helps a bit. Basically surround yourself with a
community of people who try to accomplish what you do, IRC is really good for
this, so is Reddit and even HN. Try to help those new to whatever field you're
in and you'll find yourself being useful to others and more capable than you
thought. If you cannot teach someone else, you cannot learn. Another thing and
I guess it depends where you work / study is don't be shy about asking for
help. Communication is your most powerful asset, use it.

------
neillyons
I've experienced imposter syndrome. For me it was the result of being too
dependant on being good at tech to give me self esteem.

A more robust way to get self esteem is to get it from multiple sources. E.g.
Volunteering has helped me a lot. Coaching others some coding skills reminds
me that I actually do know a lot.

Also I think the thing that will help the most is to be less tech focused.
Meet up with family and friends more. Exercise with others.

------
chrismatheson
Ship things. And remember that a huge percentage of the people in this world
couldn't or wouldn't do what you just did. Feel good. Repeat.

------
thesnufkin
Socratic questioning
[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_questioning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_questioning))
helps me still to this day. I've also found that finding confidence in the
value that I do by measuring metrics (feedback, output, whatever works) helps
as well, but ultimately a lot of discussions with my peers.

[edit] It's important to realise, understand, and then accept that you will
never be the one who knows everything the best. But accepting that you can
move on, relax, find joy in doing what you do. And funnily in doing that you
actually may be again one that knows better.

------
failrate
Sadly, it was realizing the relative intelligence of people higher in the food
chain that convinced me I am not the dumbest man alive.

------
pinouchon
If you are happy with yourself after having achieved something good, you will
soon stop trying. If you are not happy with yourself even after having
achieved something great, you will try again and again.

Is it surprising, then, that many of the most accomplished individuals still
have the imposter syndrome ? It is a cognitive tradeoff: the price you pay for
the ability to never stop improving is feeling a little weird about yourself.

------
jjguy
You do have a lot to learn. So do I. So do we all. The universe of things that
get posted to HN are too large for one person to master - it's why I still
visit.

Lots of good suggestions here, but one I don't see is to simply narrow your
scope. Choose one thing, make it your own. Keep it small, and soon you will
find you can converse with that niche's recognized experts. Iterate on that
theme and you will constantly expand your scope - in a few years you'll look
back and realize you know a lot of things.

Tech could stand to take a cue from other disciplines. To his peers, a
physicist is not just a physicist - she's nuclear physicist with a focus in
particles, or a biophysicist with a focus in computational molecular modeling.
Tech has the same de facto specialization, we're just changing too fast for
the taxonomy to stabilize and become vernacular.

------
sbov
Keep in mind that if you are comparing yourself to the front page of HN, you
aren't comparing yourself to one person, you're comparing yourself to
thousands.

~~~
ikeyany
Comparing oneself to the impossibly achievable is sometimes how you end up
achieving the impossible. Or at least falling short and ending up with
something impressive all the same.

------
jasonm23
Better to think of imposter syndrome as an engine of improvement. You are
signalling yourself that you want to be more like (insert current
inspirational figure here)

If you were as good as you'll ever be how would you improve? How would you
stay interested in your life?

It's a long journey of small steps...

Being able to deliver with what you know and getting better is fun. If you
really feel deficiency in a particular field that you want to improve, crack
the books, ask for help, get peer feedback and set simple goals you can
achieve.

Build on that and keep going.

It's not intelligence, per se, it's also tenacity, diligence, and practice
that combine into satisfying feelings of improvement.

------
inopinatus
Not sure I ever want to overcome that feeling, just channel it into motivation
instead. Don't see all those smart people as your competition, see them as
potential hires or colleagues, people to learn from. And when everyone
realises all the other high performers feel the same way, then everyone gets a
little kinder to one another. That's been a pillar of all the high-functioning
teams I've been lucky enough to be part of.

Litmus test: if you ever think you might be the smartest person in the room,
you're in the wrong room.

~~~
good_vibes
this is something to definitely keep in mind. i've noticed that people I
admire are usually pretty nice about helping out someone just starting out or
struggling on a project.

this is exactly why I spend more time on HN than reddit, I feel like the
dumbest person in this room :)

------
toomanyrichies
Mentoring and contributing to open-source are, by far, two of the best
techniques I've encountered for overcoming impostor syndrome.

The old saying that "the best way to learn is to teach" has proven true for me
time and again. It forces me to verbalize my knowledge, and if I'm unable to
do that, it means I don't really understand it as well as I thought and have
to return to Google or Stack Overflow until I can verbalize it.

Contributing to open source has been a great way for me to apprentice under
those who know more than me. It forces me to read code until I understand it
and can make improvements to it. And it forces me to justify the changes I'm
making through thoughtful, well-documented pull requests.

Finally, remember that Hacker News will always make you feel like you have a
ways to go on your journey. There will always be people out there who know
more than you do, just as there will always be people out there who are richer
/ better-looking / etc. HN attracts lots of technically-minded people,
including those who are in the top 0.1% of their field, and the posts those
folks make naturally attract a disproportionate share of attention, comments,
and upvotes. That creates a survivorship bias, since especially when you
consider that most people like you and me (i.e. people who are still earning
their stripes) tend to do more lurking than posting.

~~~
49531
I'd like to echo this. Not only is mentoring a fantastic way to increase your
confidence, but the skills that come with practiced mentoring are highly
sought after in a lot of fields. Being sought after helps you feel like less
of an imposter as well :)

------
hliyan
Pick one important nitty gritty subest of your skill and really grok it.

When Walter Chrysler brought his son into the company, rather than starting
him off in an executive position, Chrysler gave him a menial job in the
basement of the Chrysler building (some say cleaning). Then he had to work his
way up. As a result his son was a much better leader than some of the other
auto industry heirs.

I've done this personally: you have to sacrifice a few months in a lower
position than you deserve in order to master the nuts and bolts.

------
uzero
The best explanation I’ve heard comes from Dan Sullivan. He doesn’t
specifically use the name impostor syndrome but is talking about the gap
talented and intelligent people feel when other people are praising them and
they don’t see themselves that way. It’s caused by people having two stages,
front and backstage. Social and traditional media portrays only the frontstage
and you never get to see the backstage. So because of this you are constantly
compairing your backstage with all the shortcomings and failures to people’s
frontstage where there’s only success and perfection. The thing that has
helped me is to understand that there was a huge amount of work that got those
people at that point and I can do the same, it will just take time. Also
believe other people. If they say you are awesome at X and you have spend A
LOT of time to learn it, there’s a good chance you actually are awesome at it
by the common standards. It’s just that like I said, you see all the things
you don’t still know and they don’t. Unless you are in competitive sports,
don’t bother being the best, it’s usually not worth it because the gain ratio
against the effort don’t make sense. Instead focus on getting really, really
good and then expand to related fields so you can start doing stuff nobody
else can by combining those fields.

------
all_usernames
Get a degree in clinical psychology. You'll learn that everyone basically
shares the same thoughts of inadequacy, the same kinds of guilt and shame. And
that these feelings don't really go away with "success," but they might lessen
with conscious attention (therapy, coaching, etc.)

But even better: share your feelings with a group of your peers. You'll find
that they can all relate, and that you're not alone. The antidote to shame is
(healthy) vulnerability.

~~~
ci5er
> You'll learn that everyone basically shares the same thoughts of inadequacy,
> the same kinds of guilt and shame.

Can you provide a reference? I believe that I have met the best-of-the-best,
and find I stack up as a very sad number two behind him. But, number two ain't
bad, right? I'd like to understand the structure of this experience better -
especially when it comes to providing guidance to my kids...

------
mychael
Here is what has worked for me:

I changed my role models and my goals. 5 years ago I used to aspire to be a
well respected member of a software community - speaking at conferences,
writing think pieces on Medium, being widely retweeted. Now the people I
admire are entrepreneurs, creators and builders. Doers not talkers and tech
pundits.

If you make that change you might find yourself spending so much time thinking
about your goals that imposter syndrome won't even cross your mind.

------
toast76
Work with other startup founders, mentor students, assist at an accelerator,
teach a course at your local university.

In my experience, sharing the (limited) knowledge I have gained has helped me
realise I actually know more than I give myself credit for. Even if you're
only six month ahead of another founder, you've got six months of knowledge to
share. Share it, and you'll realise how much you've actually learned.

------
davidmckayv
I actually specifically wrote about this after receiving an email calling
imposter syndrome out as the reason the person wanted to stop the interview
process. Some thoughts on how to overcome it are in the article.

[https://medium.com/@DavidMcKayV/obliterate-imposter-
syndrome...](https://medium.com/@DavidMcKayV/obliterate-imposter-
syndrome-241f6e2786b4)

------
tuna-piano
100% radical honesty, with yourself first, and then others.

Prereq- Have significant money saved, so that you'll have breathing room and
confidence if it doesn't work out. For me, not being beholden to a given
job/client has given me the confidence to just do my best and not fret too
much about how I'm perceived.

1\. As an hourly consultant, imposter syndrome has been tough. When clients
pay large bill rates for an expert in a certain area, they are looking for an
expert. Whereas an employer might mentor you and help you learn, that's not
what clients do. I'm not sure if I'm an expert or not, but being ~100% honest
during the proposal and delivery phase gives myself mental acceptance. I just
need to have the skills and experiences that I told them I have (which of
course I do have)! If I recognize that those skills and experiences turn out
not to be enough, I'll be 100% honest with myself and the client at that point
as well.

2\. Today, you are as good as you'll be today. Just do your best. If that's
not good enough for your coworkers/clients/boss, then the opportunity is
probably not right for you either.

3\. Always be close to 100% honest with what you know and what you don't know.
Most people overstate their skills, but it's usually pretty apparent. Being
truthful makes you special.

4\. For social, project management, communication decisions, etc I often think
"What would a true professional do?" (maybe even substitute with someone
amazing you've worked with). If you just do what the best person would do,
others perceive you as that type of person.

There will always be smarter people. You probably overestimate how much most
people actually know. I still very much feel imposter syndrome, but it
hopefully doesn't affect too much in actuality.*

*I actually feel imposter syndrome writing this. WTF do I know about this topic?

------
mindfulgeek
Once source of Imposter syndrome is "not enough." Trying to use tools that
help you have more gratitude and see abundance can help. You are enough just
as you are, but when you compare you with others or even with the idea of the
you you'd like to be or think you were you go Coocoo. Journaling can be a big
help, especially if you write without a filter (I.e. Write down all the stuff
that comes up, even the stuff you are scared to admit). Writing a list of
things you are grateful for is another good exercise - 10 things every
morning. It sets your mind to a positive place to start the day. Another good
practice is something called intenSati. It is exercise mixed with positive
affirmations. None of these things work overnight and some are a bit
uncomfortable -- just fake it till you make it. Something good will come of
it.

~~~
ci5er
What is the purpose of positive affirmation? It sounds like a tool to
desensitize yourself to your failure to succeed. But you make it sound like a
good thing - so I'm missing something: what is the purpose?

------
wolco
Focus on learning a little bit more everyday. Spend more time in your specific
developer community, those are the peers you should judge your progress
against. Articles on the front page of HN often go deep into a topic, you
can't be expected to understand everything on that level.

------
nikivi
I overcame it by trying to visualise what it is that I know and what I don't
know.

I wrote about it here recently :

[https://medium.com/@NikitaVoloboev/the-invisible-
mountains-b...](https://medium.com/@NikitaVoloboev/the-invisible-mountains-
bd50a31bc64e)

------
joezydeco
Ship product. Ship as much as you can as often as you can. Finish a project by
yourself, finish one with a team. And then do another.

Any feeling of inadequacy can disappear if you sit back and think about stuff
you've finished. Because it's finished. All the HN comments and soap boxing in
the world can't match a finished work.

~~~
gregpilling
This is a great answer. I still think I am clueless, but if I look back at the
list of things I have done I am happy enough with myself.

I may be clueless, but at least I have tried many things. Some even worked!

~~~
pcmaffey
> if I look back at the list of things I have done I am happy enough with
> myself.

This is so true, and can be extrapolated on a micro-level, by tracking what
you learn and accomplish on a daily (or whatever) basis.

I've found training your attention this way a great hack for building
confidence and momentum. It's kind of like watching a plant grow. You normally
don't notice all the little things, until it adds up to magic.

Shameless plug, but one thing I'm proud of building was a micro-notes app for
tracking these micro-accomplishments.
[https://www.bicycl.com](https://www.bicycl.com)

------
mvindahl
Take one day at a time. Do your best and trust that it's good enough. Every
month that you continue to get a paycheck will prove that you are good enough
to be where you are. (Or maybe your really _are_ an imposter, and your
superiors, being even greater imposters, are unable to spot this. But in the
end it doesn't matter since you still get a nice and steady paycheck).

Don't put the weight of the world on your shoulders. Usually, when working on
a team, your personal successes or failures don't make or break the project.
Also keep in mind that your teammates also have their personal successes and
failures. You'll carry each other.

------
rorykoehler
I realised I will never know all there is to know therefore imposter syndrome
is not a useful vehicle. Like you I try and grow a little each day. What I
don't know that I need to know I either learn, or if that is impractical, I
delegate (and learn through proxy). HN and all the posturing, such as the "I
reverse engineered Google/Facebook in 15 seconds during my lunch break" posts,
are not the real world. While I am a proponent of small highly productive
teams I know that the best work always happens through collaboration and
diversity. Imposter syndrome is bound in hyper-reality so I decided to ignore
it.

------
fencepost
I look at two things. First, my customers seem to be in general pretty happy
with the work I'm doing for them. Second, I read the threads on here about
people trying to hire and interview and the problems that they run into or
provide to prospective employees that cause problems. Since most of what I'm
reading seems either obvious or at least has an obvious starting point and
approach I feel like I must be doing something right.

I also freely admit that I don't know everything or even most things, so I
don't worry about that. If I need to learn about something I know that that's
something I can do.

------
jancsika
I don't think I have a solution if the setting is as broad as "technology" or
even the narrower "careerist technology".

I do have a solution if one is experiencing "imposter syndrome" in a
particular domain: have a mentor. The mentor will help you measure the extent
of your knowledge. If the mentor says, "That looks/sounds good to me," then
you cast the research into the big scary world and sit with those "imposter"
feelings knowing they are false positives.

Eventually you learn to measure your knowledge without reliance on the mentor,
and the "imposter" feelings lessen.

~~~
danesparza
Also: Be a mentor to somebody else. Nothing gets rid of impostor syndrome
like, "Hey -- I can help you with that!"

~~~
jancsika
I'd only suggest doing that if the person has explicitly requested mentorship.

~~~
danesparza
:-) Of course. As a buddy of mine used to say, "How will you know they need
help? They'll ask for it"

------
Bonge
One thing is working for me (I am a work in progress).I accept myself fully;
that I cannot be like anyone else or live like anyone else. Its also the
acceptance that others feel inadequate as well.

------
gexla
Change your mindset?

If not you, then who? If there were someone better positioned for the role in
which you feel an imposter, then you wouldn't be there. There probably are
people who are smarter than you are who _could_ take the role. But they're
doing something else. Why? Probably because they are actually better suited
for some other challenge. And why bother with a role which isn't a challenge?
It's better to vacate and allow someone who will actually learn something
rather than tread the same tired ground. If we don't move, we die.

How do you know that you aren't well suited? If you feel you aren't suited for
the role then your sense of value is probably out of whack. That's probably
because you aren't seeing the game for how it really is. And that's fine
because we all start out there.

Org charts don't tell you who the actual influencers are within the org. An
org chart might tell you that Bob is the person to go to for making decisions.
But people who work there know that Bill is the person you go to for really
getting things done (maybe Bob is a lame duck, incompetent or just doesn't
care).

Written rules create structures which have solid walls but also holes, leaks,
cracks and open spaces. We tend to focus on the physical structure. But just
as important is the unintended uses of that structure. The rules are important
for what they say, but also important is what they _don't_ say.

Just the same, we're probably not understanding our value. We are looking at
the wrong targets. By the time we do figure out the game, we'll likely move on
and let some other imposter take our place.

That's good. Better to keep us on our toes. I would rather be on a plane flown
by a tense inexperienced crew than a lethargic overconfident crew. While we're
on the subject, there has been a history of plane crashes which could have
been avoided if the inexperienced crew members were more vocal in pointing out
problems to their superiors. They kept quiet because they suffered from
imposter syndrome.

Just be helpful. You wouldn't be there if someone didn't think you could help.
If there are smarter people working with you, then it's probably the people
who hired you. Trust their decision to hire you.

------
horsecaptin
\- To build confidence: work on personal projects. Set achievable milestones
and meet them. There are a lot of new posts on hacker news, but most of them
won't apply to your projects and you'll be able to ignore them.

\- Concentrate on problems and how to solve them. Ask questions. Do research.

\- Think of yourself as a professional providing a professional service to the
best of your knowledge and abilities. Sometimes you don't have all the
answers.

Remember: your job as a professional is to not worry about yourself or what
others think of you.

------
atemerev
I do not have the imposter syndrome. On the contrary, I often feel overly
confident and ready to jump straight in, while in reality, I am probably just
an average lazy engineer with pretense.

Wait oh shi

------
daliwali
Talking about overcoming "impostor syndrome" is a great way to humble-brag,
because it makes the assumption that the person is already competent enough to
feel inadequate. If you ask software developers to assess themselves, most
will think they are above average. This leads to an echo chamber where only
"competent" people reply, and the way that the question is phrased suggests
this as well.

------
jroseattle
I follow a simple principle: keep a seriously great work ethic, and don't
sweat what you don't know.

Trust me when I say most "innovation" \-- aka the stuff you might not
understand right away -- is really just a re-hashing or re-packaging of
something that's been done before.

Getting "up to speed and being current" doesn't require first-mover advantage.
Use your work ethic to learn something when you need.

------
madrafi
Blogging somehow it works for me I don't know if I have imposter syndrome but
to prepare for the future as I'm. Still in college each time I learn something
I blog about it or just push it to Github and ask for feedback on the long run
you'll see your posts stacking and you'll come to understand that it's not a
start to finish kind of deal but a journey a long and tiring journey.

------
GoToRO
Easy. Realize that the front page of HN is a view of the world that is
filtered heavilly (nothing wrong with that just to let you realize it) and the
real world is out there. What you need to do is get a job at a real company,
look at their code, and everything else, and you will see a lot of red flags.
Those people, that took those decisions do not have "imposter syndrome" so why
should you?

------
alexcnwy
Offer to give talks at local meet ups on challenging subjects that only an
expert would be able to talk about... and then not mess it up.

Confidence will follow :)

------
cagey_vet
i stopped hanging with sycophants and big bullshitters and became my own
person.

------
paulus_magnus2
Everyone starts their journey with limited skills and learns subsequently.
Early imposter syndrome is not extraordinary.

However in a healthy team you get pats on your back from boss / colleagues and
soon outgrow the syndrome. Persistent syndrome means there's something very
wrong in team dynamic / boss. Change jobs until you find accepted and the
syndrome will disappear.

------
viraptor
> have so much to learn every time I see the front page of HN.

Don't look at it like that. Everyone will have a something to learn every
single day, even based on the HN front-page. It's not that you're an impostor
if you have something to learn from HN. If you don't think you've got
something to learn, that's just delusion.

~~~
pferde
Indeed, feeling like that when looking at HN is just like feeling bad when
looking at friends' bragging/vacation posts on Facebook. It's just people
showing the best side of themselves and rarely the bad side.

------
Jach
I remind myself where the extrema are, both low and high, for my current
situation, not for the collective internet. So long as I'm not close to the
lower boundary and improving at least as fast as it's rising, everything is
fine. Lots of people don't even bother trying to improve.

------
cprayingmantis
Give a little talk about something you're really passionate about and
interested in. Make it so that it generates a lot of questions. Once you get
people talking about your area of expertise you'll start to feel better about
what you know. That's what worked for me anyways.

------
usgroup
At least 3 options:

1\. You're not an imposter and you're just over estimating the competition.

2\. The competition is better than you and you are in imposter.

3\. This is all a proxy for something else.

It's hardly a partition of all possibilities but it may help you to work by
exclusion, and at least under stand what it's not.

------
quickben
You'll never finish learning. That's the best part of what being a human is.
Embrace it.

------
stupidstupid1
I don't overcome it. I recognize that it is there and pay it no mind.

Maybe I am a fraud, maybe I'm not. I've been at this for almost 25 years now
and nobody has outed me; Either I'm not a fraud or I'm very good at being one.
In either case, yay me!

------
calebm
If you start as a teenager, you'll get a healthy dose of Dunning–Kruger, and
if you keep at it, your skills should eventually catch up to your self
perceptions - thus avoiding the imposter syndrome all together (prevention is
the best cure) ;)

~~~
toomanyrichies
It has helped me to remember that Dunning-Kruger has 2 sides. Beginners tend
to fall in the "don't know what they don't know" category, which can lead to
over-confidence. But the other side is under-confidence on the part of mid-to-
senior level folks. Those with experience start to see that there's a lot they
don't know (i.e. they "know what they don't know"), and there's a natural
overlap between this state and the state of impostor syndrome.

This doesn't always mean that you're an expert if you feel under-confident (I
wish that were the case haha). But it might mean you're moving out of the true
beginner quadrant and into journeyman status.

------
hyuuu
it always excites me to work with people who are better than me, in my selfish
mind, I get so pre-occupied by thinking how I can absorb more knowledge from
my peers that I wouldn't have the chance to feel I'm an impostor.

------
kazanz
Aging has been a major factor for me. More because I understand more about the
world then before, and have seen that no one ACTUALLY has a "perfect idea" of
what they are doing, although they may speak as if otherwise.

------
zaptheimpaler
Imposter syndrome is a problem that did not exist before media said it did.
You feel like there is always more to learn because there always is.. get used
to it.

------
hoorayimhelping
Give your imposter syndrome an identity. I named the source of those negative
thoughts DAve and anytime they show up I think to myself _shut up, Dave_.

------
g105b
Pure indefatigable arrogance usually serves me very well.

------
bane
You shouldn't, use it as a motivating tool. That "carrot" is always one step
away from you so you need to keep moving.

------
bg4
I remind myself that people I consider far more talented than me suffer from
the same thing and that it's therefore nonsense.

------
endymi0n
Lifelong sufferer of impostor syndrome here (after having failed university),
now Cofounder & CTO of a pretty successful Series B startup:

1\. Work together with awesome people who can reflect you. Now that I'm
working together with world class founders that I fully trust and we're doing
regular feedback sessions with each other, I can take confirmation of my
abilities much more serious from them than from anyone else.

2\. Practice self-love and compassion. No, really. I'm serious, there's a ton
of studies about this. Get a therapist. Best thing I've ever done for myself.

3\. If you compare yourself all the time with others, that's okay - but do so
_fairly_. People like us love choosing the best ones worldwide for comparison
and that does nothing but inflict useless pain. Instead, take the next 10 of
[insert your job title here] that you can think of and compare yourself with
them. If you compare favorably with at least half, you're average already
(which means you're not an impostor).

4\. Keep this diagram in mind:
[https://twitter.com/rundavidrun/status/587671657193455616](https://twitter.com/rundavidrun/status/587671657193455616)
Big part of impostor syndrome is devaluing the stuff you already know (but
others don't) since it's "common knowledge". If someone else appears to know
more than you, they're probably just as smart as you are. If they know as much
as you do, they're certainly less able.

5\. Fake it 'till you make it. Citing
[http://www.defmacro.org/2014/10/03/engman.html](http://www.defmacro.org/2014/10/03/engman.html)
here: "Believe in yourself. You can’t lead a cavalry charge if you think you
look funny on a horse."

6\. Ask yourself better questions. Tony Robbins once quipped: "Your brain is a
computer and it will try to answer any question you give it. You may not like
the answer though." So instead of asking yourself

7\. Success definitely helps, but it doesn't cure. It's also the hardest to
come by as there's some luck, good timing and great people involved along the
way, so work mostly on the other things instead.

8\. If you _still_ think you're an impostor, rest assured you're in good
company. We impostors are pretty smart people. Frank Abignale passed his bar
exam without cheating and Ferdinand Waldo Demara successfully operated on
people as an untrained surgeon. :)

I think by now I'm 50% done with that topic, and as `hajak` wonderfully put it
- don't worry too much about it, it's not just a curse, there's good sides
about it too.

EDIT: Slightly amended the list and copyediting

~~~
ben_jones
I'd change it to "You can't lead a calvary charge if you're afraid of
bullets". I've found, somewhat disappointingly, that to get your self-
confidence where you want it to be you have to lie to yourself at certain
points. Often times the positive outcome you want in your life can be
rationalized _against_ at which point you have to beat that thought out with a
reality-defying baseball bat. Much as those old calvary generals had to do.
There's a little insanity involved.

Also college drop-out, former CTO of what was a successful start-up.

------
lr4444lr
Overcome it? It's the secret to my success!

------
suvelx
Becoming a "Catfish Developer".

Nothing says 'well, I am shit hot' when you can fix everybody else's shit.

------
orless
Someone who's experienced and whom you trust to tell you "everybody is cooking
with water".

------
microwavecamera
"Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner."

\- Lao Tzu | Tao Te Ching

------
Anand_S
Make your Goals measurable. Be grateful for the things you have
learned/accomplished.

------
FeepingCreature
Writing a compiler, or a similar project where you know that doing it takes
some skill.

------
oaf357
Religiously keeping my LinkedIn profile up to date, writing, and public
speaking.

------
DennisP
I specialized on one narrow technology that's new and in high demand.

------
CryoLogic
So here's an interesting thought:

A lot of people on HN grew up in wealthier families, and perhaps never had to
work a manual labor job. If the average worker lifts 100 boxes per day, you
just have to lift 100 boxes and you know you are doing the work correctly. You
deserve to be there.

In manual labor, you _never_ have imposter syndrome if you are doing the work
right. Why? It's extremely easy to mentally calculate your benefit to the
company and compare it to your fellow workers.

After a day of doing manual work, you always feel refreshed and come home
satisfied.

Software on the other hand is much more conceptual, and it is much harder to
determine if your input is up to par.

To fix this, you need to figure out goals and milestones with your manager
that you can work to reach and exceed - ask your manager what you can do to be
in the top 25% of employees, and get a concrete list of features/bugs/etc. on
a timeline from your manager for you to complete.

~~~
photonios
That depends. In the Netherlands, it's very common to work as a teenager
regardless of your parent's wealth.

------
10dpd
Read up on the Dunning–Kruger effect.

------
myst
Drinking

------
chowells
Learn Haskell.

The long version of this is "acquire any non-mainstream skill to a degree most
will never match." Once you know something well that most people think is
impossible, incomprehensible, or just too much work, your viewpoint changes.

"I picked up this skill people say is hard, but it's really not. It's just
another thing to learn," is an amazing antidote to imposter syndrome. It shows
you that you can learn anything, and that includes whatever you still need to
learn for the job at hand.

~~~
gexla
This is often a signal for bullshit though.

If people can't comprehend what you're doing, it's often because that's not
their job. It doesn't have to be hard to be incomprehensible. A large code-
base built in the most simple language is incomprehensible to the person who
hasn't put in the time to crack open some files.

The value in code is in getting customers to pay for the product and for you
to be a good person on the team. That means you are engaging (meaningful
connections) with your team and with the customer. You don't do that by
working in a silo in a world in which nobody can communicate with you. Better
to concentrate on delivering value.

Learning to write incomprehensible code is not the answer to impostor
syndrome. You are immersing yourself in one rabbit hole when you should be
putting time into better understanding your impostor syndrome (your emotions).
That rabbit hole is a fear response and an attempt to gain a sense of control
over your environment. Instead, you should be doing the opposite, embracing
uncertainty and the impostor syndrome.

And love your team. Code so that everyone can join in. Even if you feel the
tools which allow this are inferior.

------
cascada
accept that. what can you do otherwise?

------
burntrelish1273
The secret is there is no secret.

Minimize ego and whining, do more.

Everyone puts pants on one leg at a time.

Set a good example and don't be a d1ck.

------
Kenji
Read other people's code. Soon you will realize that even the people who you
look up to the most will have their fair share of mistakes and ugly hacks.
Nobody's perfect.

