I think this really hits the nail on the head. People naturally associate competence with a sense of self-worth, which isn't always a bad thing, but can become

I think this really hits the nail on the head. People naturally associate competence with a sense of self-worth, which isn't always a bad thing, but can become one. It's very strange to me because even when I know there's no reason I would be competent at a particular thing and it's perfectly fine for me not to be, I still struggle with fear that I'll be looked down on if I'm not good at it. I went skiing for the first time in my life recently, and even there I had a substantial fear around looking like an idiot, despite the fact there should be no expectation I would be any good at the sport, in fact I should be quite bad. It didn't stop me from doing it, but it did mean I needed to spend conscious and concerted effort reminding myself that it's okay to be bad at something when you're learning. Engineering and asking questions is no different. EDIT: a necessary addendum to this is that it's important to be cognizant of the time of the person answering the question. If you find yourself asking the same question repeatedly, or asking questions that were addressed by resources you had previously been directed to, or asking investigatory questions that would require the answerer to do your research for you, you may require a bit of self-reflection.