The Impostor Syndrome
I believe that high achieving individuals have suffered this syndrome at least once in their life.
I first heard of this concept in the last Rubyconf Argentina. It was one of the most interesting talks for programmers that had nothing to do with code.
People who suffer this are high-achieving individuals marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a fraud.
You can read more about this here.
What has been really helpful to me is to always ask myself this question: What’s the worst thing that can happen?
If I send a proposal to a conference, what’s the worst thing that can happen? It might get rejected.
If I present a talk at a meetup, what’s the worst thing that can happen? People might hate it and might make fun of me.
Don’t let the fear stop you.
Instead of thinking, why me? Think, why not me?