Have you ever wanted to try something but held back because you felt like you weren’t “good enough”? Maybe you worried about being judged. Often, the environment and the community around us play an important role.

Here’s a little story: Last week, I decided to play the piano on a public beach. I’m not exactly a virtuoso—I was following some people who were really talented. But I thought, why not? Let’s have fun with it. In the photo, I might look like I am playing something impressive, but in reality, I was playing “Pop Goes the Weasel”. While I played, a surfer skipped up from the beach, clapping and cheering along. It was such a small gesture, but it made my day!

Once early on in my career, I realized I was considered an “expert” on a topic when someone referred me back to myself for more information!

I was researching how to build a web application that would serve as a reference implementation for my company. I wanted to be thorough, so I sought out experts who could help me with the gaps I had. Near the end of the day, someone told me, “I’m not sure, but I’ve heard so-and-so is the expert on that topic for our organization.” They were unknowingly referring to me.

One of the most impactful things we as individuals can do for women in tech is support each other and be role models for others to do the same. While the industry works toward greater inclusivity, never underestimate the power of small, daily actions. They add up and create an overall stronger tech community. Here are three things I am mindful of every day:

Do you ever focus so much on what could go wrong that you overlook all the signs things are actually going well? In tech, our jobs often require us to anticipate failure. But we also need the ability to see where things could succeed — it’s key to thinking big and achieving great things.

If you’ve recently been promoted and taken on a larger scope, it’s common to suddenly feel like you’re not doing a good job. The reality is: you may be doing just fine - your brain just hasn’t caught up yet.

Let’s take the example here of becoming a Sr. Software Development Engineer - a clear step change in scope and responsibility. Your work isn’t just about the hands-on tasks anymore; you’re probably still coding, but you’re also scaling through other engineers on your team.