I think you could use concepts from cognitive behaviour therapy here. In CBT you examine your thought and emotions, and then you look at the evidence you have

I think you could use concepts from cognitive behaviour therapy here. In CBT you examine your thought and emotions, and then you look at the evidence you have to support those. [I feel anxious. I feel quite strongly anxious. My hot thought is "I don't understand what I'm doing".] You'd then look at the situation, and the evidence you have for that. Your first example: a) I've been given a project way above my skill set. evidence) The project uses frameworks and protocols I've never used before, and the documentation refers to a language I've not used before. Your second example: b) I've been given a new project and it's complex. evidence) well, okay, it's new to me, but I'm familiar with some of the concepts and I think I know how to attempt it. I guess people may say this is similar to rubber duck debugging: Explain to a rubber duck why you're anxious about something, but also what your strengths are for this new thing you're doing.