I’ve learnt that I can identify when I am self sabotaging in the sense that I can see when my mind spirals and I can ‘get on top of myself’ as-it-were and that this trough phase is as present, normal and transient as my peak phases.
I have learnt ego wise that I do not have the answers and no matter how impatient I may be that i need to trust in process and pace myself according to me and my progress while not worrying about where I perceive other people around me to be in terms of progress along the journey - regardless of whether that perception is real or otherwise.
I have learnt that I am capable and I need to keep reminding myself this - especially when things seem hopelessly difficult and that I feel that I am out of my depth.
I’m going to look at each trait individually and the role they play in the fields of learning and programming
Values help set your course in terms of what you are accountable to, how you set your stall out and the base that you will approach your learning’s and your work from. In this case we are learning to programme and having a solid foundation in terms of ones mental approach is important.
I view this as probably the most important of the three traits. Empathy is so hugely important. In learning this means taking care of yourself, being aware that you are learning hard concepts and not to be over critical of yourself or hard on yourself. In the programming work space it means being attuned to those you are working with, how you may impact on them and also how external factors may be impacting them and to always keep it in mind.
In learning this means being aware of your ebbs and flows - how you best learn, how you get the most from various learning forms and how to then leverage that moving forward. This flows on to programming as well as how you best learn can influence how you approach problems in the work environment and how best to set yourself up to bring the best out of yourself in an individual and team setting.
The mindfulness part. It is something I have heard a lot about but never engaged with or only very superficially. Spending time in this space has really made the benefits apparent to me.
It goes hand in hand with the last question and that is the mindfulness part. It is something i need to lean into more heavily, however he challenging part for me at the moment is finding a regular time to engage with it every day - that is down to me and I know it is something I need to keep working at.
It is pretty apparent why so much emphasis is placed on this. When you take time to examine these traits and characteristics they are the pillars of what helps build (in my opinion) better people. If you can make these a more conscious part of your life and daily routine you will be able to bring a more grounded, present and holistic version of yourself to whatever situation you approach and there is no downside to that as far as I can see.
To me, it would be foolish to view any of this as wasted time. Personally I have enjoyed this content as it has opened me up to new concepts, was of approaching life/work challenges and practices that I can see will only enhance my life.
While I concede that having a sound basis and knowledge of programming and the concepts involved with it is important I do believe that when you are engaging with a work place there is so much more to it than the technical skills. You will spend more time with work colleagues than your family so you need to be a good person and have empathy for your work mates as this will make for a much better work place.