Learn from credible models (vicarious experience)

Watch someone like you succeed at the thing you fear.

Why it works

Seeing a person similar to yourself succeed raises your own efficacy by social comparison: if someone with my constraints can do this, the task is plausibly within my reach. The similarity matters — a model who is too far above you carries little information about your own odds, while a relatable model who struggled and then succeeded transfers the most belief.

How to do it

1. Find someone close to your starting point who has done the thing — not a distant expert.
2. Study their process and their setbacks, not just their highlight reel.
3. Name the specific similarity ("they also started with no background") to make the comparison land.

Evidence

Bandura identified vicarious experience as a key source of efficacy, with model–observer similarity moderating the effect; modeling effects appear across learning and behavior research. (observational)

Vicarious experience is generally weaker than firsthand mastery, and an unrelatable or effortless model can backfire by implying you simply lack their gift.

Common mistake

Comparing yourself to elite performers far beyond your level, which reads as proof you can never get there rather than evidence the goal is reachable.