How to Calm AI Anxiety Right Now

Day by day, it’s becoming harder to keep up with everything related to software development and Artificial Intelligence.
If you’re on Twitter, or “X”, and you follow tech influencers, you quickly notice the echo chamber we’re constantly exposed to: posts about how you’re not using the latest model, or how you’re not orchestrating ten agents at the same time.

For example, something like this:

If you’re not using the latest model with autonomous agents and multi-step workflows, you’re basically coding like it’s 2019.

You read this on a random Tuesday morning, before even opening your IDE, and the anxiety already kicked in.

The truth is, it’s almost impossible not to feel anxious reading this kind of content all day long.
The goal of this post is to slow things down a bit, without pretending that AI isn’t a train we need to get on.

One useful exercise is to ask yourself: who is behind the tweet that made you anxious?
More often than not, it’s people who directly benefit from that FOMO.

In my opinion, it’s usually one of these:

AI influencers who make money from engagement.
People working at AI companies, pushing the anxiety of the “opportunity” you’re supposedly missing if you’re not using the latest $200/month MAX plan.
Course sellers, the same ones we’ve seen before with new JavaScript frameworks, Web3, and crypto.

I’m not saying this to dismiss AI. Quite the opposite.
AI is here to change things, and hopefully make them better. And if we completely ignore it, we will fall behind as developers.

But understanding the incentives behind the noise makes it much easier to separate what actually matters from what doesn’t.

How to Move Forward Without Burning Out

Here are a few practical tips to keep going without losing your mind:

Build something you’ve always wanted to build, using agents in tools like Cursor, Antigravity, or VSCode with Copilot (this will probably age very badly 😅).
Try to understand what the agent is coding, and guide it using your system design, architecture, and product knowledge. If something doesn’t make sense, ask and dig deeper.
Sometimes, code “by hand”. More manually. It keeps your brain active, and honestly, solving those puzzles can still be fun.
Turn off autocomplete from time to time to keep your programming muscles in shape.
Disconnect from the tech world occasionally and do things that pull you out of that constant anxiety.
Ship your apps and share them with friends, coworkers, or people you trust.

That last point is the most important one.

When code stops being the hardest part, distribution becomes the real challenge.

Pick the platform that fits your style, share what you’re building, ask for feedback, and iterate.
You’re no longer just a programmer, you’re also the product manager, designer, tech lead, and CEO of your own projects.

Personal Experience

Everything I’m writing here is based on my own experience.
If you’re curious, you can check out Startup Role Simulator, where I also share how I built the project and link to the open-source code.

Final Thoughts

A career in software or tech in general, is a marathon, not a sprint.

Keep a sustainable pace, rest when you need to, and push hard when you’re in the zone.