Ask HN: Do you ever feel like you're fighting against imposter syndrome?
Here was my full reply:
All the time. It's just that lizard part of your brain imbuing a healthy dose of fear. That fear is just a part of exploration and pushing yourself as a person. I marvel at people who go through life effortlessly being seen as "natural" or "talented" at something. But then I remember we're all the same and perspective and optics are everything.
Managing that fear is a part of mindfulness I have yet to achieve, so I use that fear as an indicator that I'm learning and doing something new and I'm probably in over my head -- which I think is where good and new things come from. I've just learned to live with it.
The real test is this: are you going to let the fear move you, or are you going to push through it? Eventually that fear you're pushing through goes away once your actions and thinking become habit. That's where you have a new trap: complacency -- that's the worst fate.