It’s really great that we are confident. I want to harness that power. The problem is – that this Dunning-Kruger Effect – really bums us out! Our powerful feelings and our optimism are distorted. It’s not logical to expect to be the best at anything right out of the gate (or ever). That shouldn’t be the goal. MOST PEOPLE ARE AVERAGE – AND THAT IS OK! “Average” is definitely good enough. BUT – let’s reframe this whole thing. The “Valley of dispair” is TERRIBLE and is 100% avoidable. This red line is ‘confidence.’ Why should your confidence jump around like that? I mean… you can do it. I know you can do it. It’s a fact. Your confidence can be steady.

This is how most people seem to be feeling when they try and learn programming or design. Yikes! I mean… dealing with ego and depression and elation is hard enough in normal daily life. Our ‘likes’ and texts and FOMO and beeps and boops have really messed up our body’s systems. If you’ve been feeling like this… we need to reprogram you a bit before you can go on. We’ll sort you out. It won’t hurt… but you’ll have to fight.

You should be confident. You aren’t trying to be the best programmer in the world. You aren’t trying to win the tennis tournament.

You are going to learn a new set of skills and everything about this industry. We already know you can do it.  Will you do it? That’s up to you. That’s a choice. Set your expectations. You are capable. Be confident. Don’t be unreasonable. You can’t gain 10 years of experience and make ‘a new facebook” by watching some tutorials and pulling an all-nighter… right? Be realistic. Then you don’t have to jump up and down.

When you’re new to something, the first thing to do is get comfortable with that fact. Say to yourself, ‘I am new to this. How exciting!’ Of course, you don’t know everything yet—you just started learning. There’s only one way to learn: step by step.

Some people feel confident figuring out all those steps on their own. While it’s certainly possible, I can’t imagine why anyone would prefer that.