I never thought I’d see a day where I enjoy coding as much as I do now. And to be honest, there are days when it isn’t as “fun” as it seemed to be when i first started out and there were a bunch of resources that helped me take the first few baby steps. But what I found though, is that pushing through the hard times and not giving up would teach me so much about what I am really capable of and how to get through when things seem to be going nowhere. Here are four things that I realized so far on my journey of learning how to code:
1) I learnt how to think in a structured way:
As I continued to code more, I found myself thinking in a more structured and organized way. Everything could be accomplished in a step-by-step process, and all that I needed to do was figure out the steps to reach a goal.
A big problem could be broken down into smaller ones, and those ones into even smaller ones. All I needed to do was clear my head and think about the problem in smaller segments.
2) I learnt how to stick with problems:
Every problem suddenly became solvable. All that I needed to do was be patient and approach the problem once I had found a new perspective or angle to a possible solution. Usually before this, I’d find myself giving up and letting go, declaring that this wasn’t “my thing”. But soon enough, problems didn’t become a reason for me to “give up”. They became a reason for me to put on some motivational music and get down to business.
3) It taught me that anything can be learnt with patience and perseverance:
There were moments when I felt stuck and as though I was getting nowhere. But as I waited till I could find a solution to whatever particular challenge that I was facing, I started to see that everything, was in fact, solvable. I didn’t need to be “coding genius” or a “math whiz”. All I needed to be was patient and persistent, and soon enough, I’d solve the problem and take another step towards being a better developer.
4) We’re only afraid of the things we don’t know:
The moment I finally broke through and solved that first “un-solveable” problem, it hit me. I only disliked the things I didn’t know, instead of seeing them as challenges and obstacles for me to overcome. And as I started coding more, and solving newer and more difficult problems, I found myself starting to look for bigger ones. What was once a source of frustration and a tinge of fear had now become something that made me feel excited and enthusiastic about building something.
Conclusion:
All in all, keeping focused and learning to enjoy the process of coding even when it might be frustrating, in my opinion, is extremely rewarding.
Today, I see myself growing as an individual with a more welcoming nature towards problems and difficulties and it makes me more confident to face the uncertainty that life brings.
And although programming did teach me so much, it would be incomplete to not mention my meditation practice that helped me so much along the way.
When I faced what seemed like road-blocks, or I was at the end of my wits trying to solve a problem that just wasn’t making any sense, my heartfulness meditation practice really helped me push through and maintain a level-headed, calm mindset.
Here’s a link to the heartfulness website,if you’d like to try it out: http://en.heartfulness.org/masterclass/ .
Learning this practice is absolutely free and, personally, it’d be an understatement for me to say that this meditation practice is just “helpful” amidst the hustle of daily life, because it has given me so much more than stress-relief.
Good luck and keep on hacking!
