In this article, I want to talk about struggles programmers may go through, and honestly, I'll just speak from my own experience, because I've gone through multiple stuff. Even though I haven't shared these things with others, they are struggles I've had. I don't have these anymore, as I've sort of found an answer every time I struggled, I guess that is the beauty of hardships and struggles, finding an answer, a way out.
Comparing yourself to others
I've found myself in the past comparing myself to others, and obviously not the ones that have accomplished less than me, but developers who have accomplished far more than me.
I end up just realizing that my life has been different. The years of experience I have are less than many people I have compared myself to.
In the end, I've come to accept that I can only truly compare and measure progress to my past self.
Learning slow
Learning slow sounds like learning slow. Sometimes when learning a thing a lot of people have found easy, or it can be that the thing gets marketed as something which is easy to learn, you end up feeling bad when struggling with it and having a tough time learning it.
Remember, you are a human being, and you are different from other human beings.
If you are learning something for the first time, it is natural that it is hard.
Sometimes you just need more time to learn something, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Progress is progress, even if it is slow progress.
Burning out
I've felt like I've burned out sometimes. Even though I enjoy grinding a lot, and working hard, I've realized if I neglect strong foundations in my life, I will get burned out eventually.
- Staying hydrated
- Working out every day
- Getting good sleep
- Taking my mid-day nap (30 - 60 minutes)
- Not stressing about things
If these components are in place in my life, then I won't burn out, even if I grind for 12 hours throughout the whole week.
Feeling overwhelmed
I've felt overwhelmed. There are so many things I want to learn. Learning each thing takes time. Sometimes I've felt that I'm obliged to learn certain things because there is hype around it.
Don't feel obliged to learn anything.
Now, I just follow my heart and interests, and I stop working on a side project if it doesn't bring me satisfaction anymore.
I will mention though, that I've found it very satisfying and fun building mini projects that I give myself a week to finish. Even if I don't finish them, I will just abandon them and continue on to the next project. Just because you don't finish a project doesn't mean you haven't acquired new knowledge by building it.
Quitting
I've quit programming twice in my life, between the age of 15 - 18, with the intention of actually quitting, either because I've found it too hard, boring or felt overwhelmed and didn't know what to learn.
I came back to programming honestly because of my father. He told me that I should continue and that I'd have a bright future if I don't stop due to the amount of money that there is in tech.
Maybe I would've come back to programming if he didn't strongly advise me to do it, I don't know.
Though, later on, I made a commitment to drop out of high school and find a job as a front-end developer.
Rejections
When looking for jobs in programming, especially your first job, you will be rejected, many times. Rejections are normal. Don't feel bad because you got rejected. Use rejections as fuel. Become more motivated instead, to find the job you want.
Personally, I felt like I wanted to prove to the existing companies, that I'm much more worth than what they think, and let me tell you, it feels fucking good being in this position.
I remember in interviews sometimes how people would chuckle hearing I dropped out of high school, and expect to find a job, little do they know I've accomplished more than them in such a short period.
I'm proud of myself and my accomplishments, and it also motivates me to continue grinding, because how far can I go? How big is my potential?
Seeing what I've accomplished so far, makes me excited for the future and what I'm able to accomplish.
Conclusion
You are not alone if you have gone through any of this stuff, plenty of people do or have, I have myself, many times.
Don't forget though, that life is short, we will all pass away soon, so don't waste your time worrying about impractical things that affect you negatively mentally.
Follow your heart, and know that your journey is different from others' journeys.
