The Way We Think Has An Impact
How do you describe the feeling of Imposter Syndrome? When does it affect you the most? Why?
Imposter syndrome brings about feelings that you aren’t in the right place, you are a fraud, and you don’t deserve to succeed. This limited scope is a major hindrance to obtaining a growth mindset when learning. For me, the biggest impact of imposter syndrome is felt right in the middle of learning something. I may catch on early and feel excited but once I get going I sometimes realize how much there is yet to learn. This is similar to what Seth Godin refers to as The Dip. It is time to really evaluate where you are and if that road is still worth traveling. When you push through this dip, you may come to realize that you do belong and you are no imposter.
What have you learned about the tech world that you are happy to know?
This may have seemed like a throwaway topic but I was very interested to learn about how a faster site requires less energy to run. I am big into environmentalism so I found this extremely interesting. Another way to make your site less energy-intensive is to use dark mode. I look forward to exploring this much more in the future.
Why is the way we talk to ourselves in our inner mind so important? What effect can it have on our well-being?
Every experience also involves a set of stories. It’s up to us to tell ourselves stories that will help us to grow. If you tell yourself that you aren’t smart and that you’ll never get it, then it will be much more difficult. If you tell yourself that its a learning process and you are on a journey than its easier to see the full scope. Its always helpful to zoom out and see how your story might be leading you in a certain direction.
What about this course is challenging you the most? How do you think you are growing through it?
Amongst other things, I am still struggling to adjust to my new schedule. As a musician, late nights were not uncommon so my brain has been wired that way to a certain extent. Late at night is one of my most productive hours and I’ve found myself staying up late working on this class a few nights. I’m working to shut my brain down and get used to this schedule. The body is very interesting to reprogram in this way. As far as the content we’ve covered, I’m still struggling with grid some and also with grasping JavaScript. For these two items it’s all about repetition and seeing how far I’ve come in my understanding of other areas. It will get easier with practice.
How has podcast listening influenced the way you think?
I’ve listened to so many podcasts over the years that have a HUGE impact on the way I think. The ones that stick out the most are not coding podcasts but more lifestyle based podcasts. Some of my favorites are The Tim Ferriss Show, The Daily Stoic, The Minimalists, Rich Roll… the list goes on. I’ve started listening to more coding podcasts over the past six (or so) months and it has been really helpful to hear knowledgable people talk about things related to what I’m learning. I will definitely be listening to more coding podcasts in the future.
What has your spare time looked like in-comparison to what it looked like a year ago?
One year ago I was spending most of my free time tying up loose ends from moving across the state by getting my living environment set up the way I wanted and donating/throwing away things that no longer served me. While I’m glad now to have spent that time, I’m also glad that I’m not in that position currently. I’ve always done a lot of learning and reading in my free time so that hasn’t changed much but the things I’m learning have changed some. I was doing some coding self-teaching at the time so that's one way that I’ve changed wherein I was previously spending my free time doing this and now I’m spending my “work” hours focused on coding. I have definitely been practicing guitar and focusing on music less but I think that's cyclical and I’m really focused on learning this right now.