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How to Reach Your Full Potential as a Programmer (It's Probably Not What You Think)

Hadil Ben Abdallah on August 17, 2026

Every programmer wants to improve. We all dream about becoming the person who can look at a difficult problem, think for a few minutes, and confid...
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Aida Said

Thank you so much for this powerful breakdown 🔥
Point 5 is my biggest problem. I really feel afraid of open source. As you said, I always feel I have nothing valuable to add.
I'll try to start with simple contributions, such as correcting a typo or reporting a bug.

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Hadil Ben Abdallah

I think a lot of developers feel exactly the same way about open source 😅 And starting small is the best way to get past that fear. A typo fix or bug report might seem minor, but it gets you familiar with the process and makes the whole thing feel less intimidating.
Once you make that first contribution, you’ll realize you had nothing to be afraid of. So keep going! 🙌🏻

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Ghulam Murtaza

Great sharing! Point 5 is also one of my concerns.

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Hadil Ben Abdallah

Totally understandable! 😅 I think open source feels intimidating at first because you see huge projects and experienced contributors everywhere. But once you start with something small, it becomes less scary. Even a tiny contribution is a great first step! 🙌🏻

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Ghulam Murtaza

Exactly! 🙌🏻 I think that’s the best way to look at it. Starting small makes open source feel much more approachable, and every contribution—no matter how tiny—helps build confidence and experience. I’m definitely going to keep that in mind and take it one step at a time! 🚀

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Hadil Ben Abdallah

Exactly! Glad to hear you're going to take that one step at a time. Keep going! 🔥🙌🏻

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Ben Abdallah Hanadi

I'll go through all these steps and see if I can reach my full potential as a programmer 🔥

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Hadil Ben Abdallah

I'm sure you'll notice the upgrade after following those steps 🙌🏻

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Dev Monster • Edited

This article is very helpful for newbies. Thanks for sharing!

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Hadil Ben Abdallah

Thank you so much! Glad you found something helpful in my article 🙌🏻

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Dev Monster

🙌🏻

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Moriam Akter Swarna

Though I'm not a beginner, I think this post will help anyone who fears getting started after a long pause. It's really worthy.

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Zunayed Hasan

Good initiative. Thanks.