When I first decided to put my hands on machine learning subjects a few years ago, I found myself scared more than necessary. I had tried to follow courses and materials, but later on, I stopped doing it. It was not only because I had so little knowledge about the concepts but also I did not believe that I had the capability to understand the topics that are new to me. A year after that, I have finally figured out that when you start doing something new, what goes in your mind determines whether you will succeed at it, or not. Yet, I thought that I was one of the few people who experience this problem.

A couple of months ago, I had found a definition for what I felt for a long period of my life.

Imposter Syndrome

As I was searching for on the internet, I ran across these two words: Imposter Syndrome. It can be defined as “a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success”. We can also visualize it like this:

So, basically, it is to think that you are not as capable as others, and that what you achieve is because you are just lucky. I felt this a lot especially during my bachelor’s degree but I have found a way to deal with it.

What to do when you feel like it?

I think the most important thing is to remember that whenever you feel like an imposter, you should convert this mindset into a thinking that you should work harder.

What I do?

Whenever I feel like it, I just think that I should work harder to feel more comfortable about the new subjects that I’m learning.

I try to make lists of what should be done, so that I can focus on completing the tasks.

I think of failure as a learning opportunity, and remember a lesson from my past. When I first took a programming course in college, I almost failed at it but this only led me to become better at programming by studying more. So, I think that I am capable of learning, and I should not be scared anymore.

I created the machine learning cards to make people feel better about the subjects, and show them that there is nothing to be scared when it comes to learning new things. You should just work hard, and do a lot of practice. Once you believe you can, you will see that the things that seem impossible to you are actually not that far away.

I hope this post helps at least one person to overcome the imposter syndrome.

You deserve much more than you think!

-Coding Woman

References:

Corkindale, G. (2014, July 23). Overcoming Imposter Syndrome. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2008/05/overcoming-imposter-syndrome

The Impostor Syndrome. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://gc.seas.harvard.edu/impostor-syndrome

Xkcd: Impostor Syndrome. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://xkcd.com/1954/