Thread by @nickbulljs

Want to become a Software Engineer but afraid of failure?

Here 7 steps to overcome it easily

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1. Accept that talent to code is not exist

It's easy to defend our failures with the word “talented”

We always say “This person is talented” when we see higher than average result

But in fact, this person practicing from an early age

We mislead talent with ages of practice

2. Choose problem, not language

Most people start their coding journey from the wrong step

They chose the programming language first

But you need to start with a problem

We don’t write code just to write code

We solve problems with the code

Ask yourself, “Why do I want to start coding? What motivates me?”

Find problems or projects you are interested in

After you found it, research which programming language is most appropriate for it

3. Use the Pareto Law in coding

You don’t need to know 100% of the language to start coding

Apply the Pareto law

It states that for many outcomes roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes

In other words, by knowing 20% of the programming language you can build 80% of possible things

Start with the fundamentals of the language

Then go deeper into it if you need

4. Focus on one thing

Learning more than one languages at once produces a lot of bad outcomes:

• You're distracting yourself
• You delay the moment when you actually start coding
• You don’t see any progress and start procrastinating

The cure is to pick one language and stick with it

Stop switching back and forth between programming languages

Multitasking is not working

Focus only on one thing at a time

The cure is to pick one language and stick with it

Stop switching back and forth between programming languages

Multitasking is not working

Focus only on one thing at a time

Watching YouTube tutorials?

Open text editor and code what you just learned

Play and experiment with new knowledge

6. Fool your brain

We instantly procrastinate when we open our to-do list and see a task like:

“Create a website”

We know that it is something big and complex

We know that we need to put a lot of effort into accomplishing it

What are we doing then?

Saying: “Nah, maybe tomorrow”

But tomorrow never comes

To start actually do things you need to fool your brain

Split your big task into small and achievable ones

Now, when you open your to-do list your brain needs to take less effort to start to do things

You just fooled it

Without starting you will always be learning

7. Use a fear setting framework

And the last one, my favorite, the fear setting framework by Tim Ferris

The author of the New York Times bestseller The 4-Hour Workweek

A fear setting framework can help you overcome your fear of coding and other fears that are holding you back

Here is how to do it:

1. Make three columns and label them “Define,” “Prevent” and “Repair”

2. In the column "Define" define everything you fear about

3. In the column "Prevent" list ways you could reduce the likelihood of each fear from happening

4. In the column "Repair" list ways you could repair the damage if fears were to come true

5. Assess the impact of worst-case scenarios in the column "Repair" on a scale of 1-10

6. Assess the potential positive benefit of overcoming your fears on a 1-10 scale

7. Make three columns and label them 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years

8. Write down the potential costs of inaction

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