51Why it will still be hard

I promised not to lie, so this node is here.

It's easier with AI than without, but it isn't easy. There will be evenings where nothing works. There will be moments where it fixes the same thing for the fifth time and breaks its neighbour. There will be the feeling that everyone else can do this and you can't.

That's normal, and here's what matters: it's hard not because you're bad. It's hard because you're doing something you've never done. The feeling of being stupid is just the feeling of being new, and it passes.

What actually helps.

Walk away. Half of all unsolvable problems solve themselves after a walk. It sounds like advice off a greetings card, and it's true; I've tested it many times.

Shrink the piece. The big thing won't work - do a small thing. One small win restores more energy than an hour of stubbornness.

Remember why you started. Not to "become a developer", but for the specific thing you wanted to make.

And most of all: it's hard for everyone. For people ten years in as well. The difference isn't that things don't break for them, it's that they're used to things breaking and don't take it as a verdict on themselves.