If you want to have an outsized impact on the world, on your team, on your product, or whatever, you will almost certainly have to work hard.
This isn’t a popular notion in the age of Twitter, where such an idea is often dismissed as “hustle culture”, labeling it as toxic.
But it’s true.
Whether you’re trying to make a dent in the world or climb up the technical ladder at your company, you can’t expect to sit back and just watch as accomplishments come to you. You have to go get them.
If you’re new to the world of software development, you might need to hear this the most. This job will be hard. You will have to sacrifice. You will encounter interpersonal obstacles that will challenge your morale and your energy.
It’s tough out there. In a world where we are all managing our public image on social media, marketing ourselves and conveying our strengths, it can be extremely deceptive to newcomers. When we tweet about our technical challenges, it makes us look more competent because we’re okay sharing our lessons with the world.
But you don’t see people tweeting about the PIP they were just put on, or the disastrous conversation they had with a colleague. We don’t generally share the negative consequences of our own actions when we’re embarrassed.
And you will be embarrassed. Technical mistakes are comparably easy to let go of, I’ve found. Interpersonal mistakes are much tougher.
Innoculate yourself against this by embracing humility, seeking feedback regularly, and fostering a growth mindset.
Working hard