It’s Not Hard, It’s Just New

I want to get a little vulnerable with you.

Recently, I was stuck on a tough coding ticket that required heavy refactoring and a cleaner architecture. As someone who works across frontend and backend, I’ve found that frontend architecture, especially with React, can be uniquely challenging.

Then the doubts started creeping in.
What if this just isn’t for me?
What if I never get it?
Shouldn’t I know this by now?

A wave of imposter syndrome, something I rarely feel, hit me hard.

But then I remembered a conversation from a few weeks earlier:

“It’s not hard, it’s just new.”

That line shifted everything. I realised feeling stretched was completely normal. Growth often feels uncomfortable at first; what matters is what you do after that feeling.

So I took a deep breath, stayed curious, and chose action over doubt.

I read articles on React architecture, explored different ways to structure code, and even used ChatGPT to help me create an SOP, a repeatable system I can follow next time I feel overwhelmed.

That’s what being proactive looks like. In tech, you’ll never know everything. Half the job is learning new things, and having a process for when you feel stuck makes all the difference.

Here’s mine:

1. Breathe.

2. Define the challenge clearly.

3. Spend 30 minutes on focused research (ask for help if needed).

4. Apply what you’ve learned.

5. Document or create a reusable framework.

Thirty minutes of intentional study saved me hours of overthinking.

That’s why I hold onto two simple beliefs:

1. It’s not hard, it’s just new.

2. Anything and everything can be learned.

With tools like ChatGPT, information is at your fingertips. The only thing standing in your way is the decision to go seek it.

Think about anything you can do now: editing videos, playing an instrument, even using Excel. When you started, it seemed difficult. But it wasn’t; it was just unfamiliar. The complexity didn’t change; your confidence did.

So next time you face something new, don’t label it as hard. See it for what it is, an opportunity to build familiarity and strength.

You’ve got this.

Until next time,
Ruth