It is deeply satisfying to carry out a project from inception to realization. However, beyond school projects, we must ask ourselves whether this should be a one-person job.
As we live in the era of Big Science, I believe that the answer in most cases is No. And that's fine. It is an unrealistic expectation to believe that one can have them all. Not to mention the benefit of bouncing ideas off your teammates, drawing on their motivation if you feel stuck, and feeling a sense of belonging.
A possible solution is to image yourself as a research group leader. It is not to boost your ego1, but to
Look for collaborators strategically to have all required skills present.
You want collaborators with whom you are on good terms and who supplement your skills.
AI as a teammate
AI tools can provide a reasonable substitute for some expertise. They are far from perfect as they can hallucinate. Some tools I am excited about
chatGPT (4o or o1) for ideation about proofs (kind of works as of November 2024)
cursorAI for coding
Dig Deeper
Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
This trick might also help you fight imposter syndrome