Small Steps Around the Wall: Tackling Impostor Syndrome in the Age of AI

Impostor Syndrome Finds Us All

The faster the world moves, the easier it is to feel like you’re falling behind. Name that feeling whatever you like, but for me it’s impostor syndrome. It shows up in moments of transition, uncertainty, or pressure—when you look around and assume everyone else knows more, is getting it faster, or belongs more than you do.

I know that voice well. It’s followed me through many seasons of my career with self-defeating questions like, When will they figure out I have no idea what I’m doing? and Who am I kidding, I’ll never get this!

Impostor syndrome thrives in silence and comparison. And right now, it has the perfect breeding ground: the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. AI has been transforming my industry. There is a lot of hype, for sure, and it's not all smoke and mirrors. It has infiltrated almost every piece of software I use, and, unlike other over-hyped technologies (looking at you, virtual/augmented reality), this one is only gaining momentum. 

Not long ago, a new acronym started appearing all over my feeds: MCP—Model Context Protocol. Everyone seemed to be talking about it. Engineers. Senior leaders. Product folks. Thought leaders.

It kept showing up in conversations, posts, and team updates. I didn’t even know what it stood for. But I knew it mattered. And yet, it stayed on my to-do list for weeks: Understand MCP. The longer I delayed, the more the fear grew. I spent more time thinking, What if this is the moment the industry leaves me behind? What if I really don’t get it anymore? Maybe it’s time to open a fruit stand.

That fear was familiar. It was impostor syndrome. And it was loud.

What Helps Me Through It

Over the years, I’ve learned that impostor syndrome doesn’t vanish with success. The most important thing I’ve learned is how to recognize it and how to meet it. Not with grand gestures. But with small steps.

I’ve used this approach again and again:

• Name the fear.
• Shrink the goal. Don’t conquer the whole mountain—just find the trailhead.
• Take one small action. Not to win, but to move.
• Wait for curiosity. It usually arrives once the fear has abated.

How I Got Unstuck

So with MCP, I applied this strategy.

• Step one: I found a blog post. That was it. I didn’t read it. I just located it, opened the tab, and walked away. That was enough for the day.
• Step two: A few days later, I opened the tab again. Still unsure. Still anxious. But I read it—or had ChatGPT read it to me. That helped. A little. Still, I paused again.
• Step three: Way leads on to way. What’s Claude Code? A quick search led me to a download link. Then I ran it in my terminal. No stakes. Just a test.

Something shifted. That step didn’t feel scary—it felt interesting. I wasn’t blocked by fear anymore. I was driven by curiosity. One small action led to another, and before long I was moving again. The fear wasn’t gone, but I wasn’t focused on it anymore, and I had built a path around it.

You’re Not Alone—And You’re Not Behind

Maybe you’re feeling that right now. Maybe it’s AI. Maybe it’s a new role. Maybe it’s the quiet worry that you’re supposed to have it all figured out already.

Whatever form it takes, impostor syndrome convinces us that we’re alone in our uncertainty. But that’s a lie. The truth is: feeling behind is often the first sign that you’re about to grow. So what can you do?

The Small Step Rule

Start small. Not to conquer your fear. But to move beside it.

• Open one tab.
• Ask one question.
• Skim one paragraph.
• Let one bit of curiosity take the lead.

Fear builds a wall. But small steps—taken again and again—build a path around it.