Smart people get stuck in the strangest ways. They know exactly what they need to do. But they can't bring themselves to do it.
Sound familiar?
Watch: Why Smart Coders Get Stuck - Full Conversation
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The Pattern Behind the Paralysis
Taha Hussein (Microsoft, Yahoo, SAP veteran) shared something that stopped me cold:
"People don't take action if they won’t accept they have a problem. Once you accept they have a problem, then they may take action."
This explains why you're stuck. You're trying to logic your way out of a “learning” problem, but you haven’t accepted that the real problem is that you don’t know where to get help from.
Or take the obsession with piling on more courses, more DSA…..
Your brain knows you should apply for jobs and then prepare for them.
But your emotional state is programmed by past experiences - the rejection, the imposter syndrome, the fear of not being good enough.
So you stay in your comfort zone, learning new things. Useless for your goal.
The Real “Portfolio Project”: You
Most developers think their problem is technical. Wrong.
Your problem is you're stuck replaying the same emotional patterns:
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Perfectionism disguised as "learning more"
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Analysis paralysis disguised as "research"
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Avoidance disguised as "not ready yet"
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“I don’t like risk” is disguised as “I don’t have money.”
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“I don’t know what to prioritize” is disguised as “I don’t have enough time.”
Pattern recognition isn't just for code. It's for life.
The Guilt Trap
According to Taha, here's what keeps you spinning: You can't admit you have a problem because admitting problems triggers guilt.
And you don't know how to process guilt.
So you rationalize.
"It's not that I'm avoiding applications - I just need to learn React better first."
Sounds like someone eating chocolate bars while complaining about weight gain?
Same emotional mechanism.
The Two-Step Reset
When you catch yourself in the pattern:
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"I forgive myself for the decisions I've made that led me to this point." Say it out loud. Your emotional mind needs to hear it.
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"I release myself from needing to be perfect before I start." Let go of the belief that you need to know everything before applying or building something real.
The Identity Shift
Stop trying to build habits. Build identity.
Don't think "I need to learn more"
Think "I won’t stop learning. But I need to start demonstrating what I’ve learned."
The difference? The second pattern makes you do things that the market wants to see before they’ll give you a chance.
The Bottom Line
You're not stuck because you lack technical skills. You're stuck because you haven't learned to manage your inner state.
Master your emotions, and the code follows. Stay stuck in your patterns, and no amount of tutorials will save you.
The cheat codes you're looking for don't exist.
But the systematic approach to getting unstuck does.
No one is coming to save you.
Good. You’re doing it for you and maybe your family.
If you think about it…what’s stopping you?
Is it…you?
Four ways we can help you:
1. Wondering what learning to code actually means?
Becoming a coder is much more than just "learning to code" some languages. When I was hired at Google, for example, I didn't know three out of the four languages I had to write every day.
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👉 My FreeCodeCamp Course --> Before You Learn To Code (Video).
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2. Inner Circle (Free Preview Included)
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👉Apply for Inner Circle → parsity.io/inner-circle
3. Career Change To Code Podcast
Driving? At the gym? Hiding in the bathroom? Perfect time to inject the best techniques for a career change to code directly into your brain via
👉 Follow the podcast here: YouTube | Spotify
4. Weekly Tips In Your Inbox
👉 Subscribe to this newsletter (it’s free). I try and keep it to 3 minutes or less so you can read in the elevator, waiting in lines, in the bathroom...😝
