Your Doer & Your Excuser: Why Your Brain Thinks You’re Smarter Than You Are

In 1996, looking for a job, I fired up Netscape and searched Craigslist for “webmaster.”

I found an ad and replied with confidence.

Maybe too much confidence:

Hi [Company],
Your ad says you need a webmaster. I’m your man. I’ve been coding websites for two years. I’m the best there is. Hire me now—your search is over.
Sincerely,
Joe

Their reply was kind—but clear:

Hi Joe,
Thank you for reaching out. We appreciate your enthusiasm. Please submit a full application and resume if you’d like to be considered.
Best,
[the poor soul who had to deal with my cocksureness]

At the time, I thought I had it all figured out. I didn’t. I was riding high on a new skill, inflated by the thrill of HTML 1.0.

This is the Dunning-Kruger Effect in action: the less we know, the more confident we feel. Especially when we’ve just started learning something new.

• That rush of confidence you get from early wins? It’s a trap.

• Learn a little Japanese, and suddenly you’re fluent—until you’re not.

• Beat the boss on level 10, and you think you’ve mastered the game—until the next one crushes you.

Progress feels good, so we assume it’ll continue. But learning isn’t a straight path—it’s an infinite loop. The moment you think you’ve “got it,” you stop growing.

Climbing Mount Stupid

“Mount Stupid” refers to the peak of inflated confidence that occurs when you know just enough about a topic to believe you understand it fully—without realizing how much you don’t know.

This phenomenon is often visualized as a curve, where initial exposure to a subject creates a surge in confidence. Psychologists humorously refer to this high point as Mount Stupid—the place where people know little, but think they know a lot.

As I’ve learned more over the years, I’ve discovered something strange: the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.

But that’s not a problem—it’s an opportunity. A seed for curiosity and growth.

Uncovering your own cognitive biases is like discovering a new sense. Suddenly, you can see what was invisible. You begin to notice how your thinking shapes your actions.

And with that awareness comes clarity, calm, and control.

Cognitive biases are mental shortcuts your brain runs to save energy. They're ancient. Passed down through generations. They kept your ancestors alive—but they may be holding you back.

The word bias originally meant a sideways slant—like a bowl that never rolls straight. Your thoughts do this too.

Daniel Kahneman, one of the world’s leading psychologists, said it best:

“These are not random mistakes, but systematic errors that we all make, all the time, without realizing.”

Your Doer & Excuser

Your brain has two personalities:

• The Doer — quick, impulsive, automatic

• The Excuser — the rational storyteller that justifies the Doer’s decisions

You do something impulsive. Then your Excuser kicks in and spins a justification so fast, you believe it was the plan all along.

This is how cognitive dissonance works. When your belief gets challenged, it creates tension. And instead of facing the discomfort, your Excuser kicks into overdrive.

But there’s power in seeing the script. In questioning your default settings. In realizing: Maybe I’m not as right as I think I am.

That’s when change begins.

Discovering your own cognitive biases is like unlocking your sixth sense.

You become sharper. Quieter. More precise in your thinking. You start spotting traps before you fall in them.

I call this kind of thinking Synthetic Thinking—the ability to connect what others don’t see. It’s thought scaffolding for your future self.

If you want to become a better writer, sign up for my free event.

Details here → https://writeyourbook.carrd.co

Act fast, space is limited.

Practical Tools

Here are a few tools to practice this:

• Cognitive Bias Journal: Every time you catch yourself justifying something reactive—write it down. What did your Doer do? What did your Excuser say?

• Learning Audit: Pick one skill you think you’ve mastered. Relearn the basics. Teach it to someone else. Find the gaps.

• Beginner’s Mind: Start every project assuming you know less than you think. Watch how your curiosity expands.

Today, question one assumption. One belief. One “obvious” answer that might not be as solid as you think.

Then ask yourself: Is this thought helping me become who I want to be?

Know someone who’s a little too confident in their skills? (Or someone humble but hungry to grow?) Forward this to them.

Let’s help each other uncover our hidden mental scaffolding.

These reflections are what I call Modern Alchemy—turning blind spots into breakthroughs.

You’re not broken. You’re just running old code. And once you see it, you can reconstruct it.

Thought by thought.

Connection by connection.

Thanks for reading and subscribing.

You can also find me on Substack.

https://substack.com/@joerapoza

—Joe