When Praise Feeds Doubt

When Success Feeds Self-Doubt

We usually talk about imposter syndrome as something that strikes when we’re new, inexperienced, or stepping into a big challenge.

But I’ve learned that it can sneak in just as easily when things are going really well.

During my seven weeks in Hawaii, I met so many incredible people - founders, mentors, investors - and the same thing kept happening.

People would tell me how “on top of things” I am, how confident I seem, how I really know my stuff.

And while that’s exactly what anyone would love to hear, something unexpected happened: The more people believed in me, the more I started questioning myself.

The Pressure to Live Up to an Image

It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate the compliments. I did. It’s an amazing feeling to be seen and recognized for your work.

But at the same time, I felt this invisible pressure build up inside me. Suddenly, I wasn’t just showing up as myself, I was trying to live up to an image others had of me.

And then, as life often has perfect timing, I ran into a bug I couldn’t fix. For weeks.

Every day I’d open the code, convinced I’d figure it out this time… and every night I’d close my laptop thinking, Maybe I’m not as good as people think I am*.*

That’s when imposter syndrome hit the hardest, not because I failed, but because I felt like I was letting down the version of me everyone else seemed to see.

Running It Off (Literally)

It took me a few long runs to process that feeling.

Running is my way of untangling thoughts when I’m stressed, even though I love/hate running, I swear some of my best debugging happens between kilometers 3 and 5 (that’s how much I can run).

Somewhere between those km, I realized something simple but freeing: Imposter syndrome doesn’t mean you’re not capable.

It means you care.

Caring Is Not a Weakness

You care about doing things right.

You care about growing.

You care about living up to your own potential, and that’s what keeps you pushing forward.

These days, when that self-doubt sneaks in, I remind myself:

✅ I built something people actually use.

✅ It’s stable. It’s working.

✅ And I’m still learning — which is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.

I’m not the best. I don’t need to be. But I am good, and that’s enough (at least for most days).