The Mindset of a Developer

The Mindset of a Developer

“Of all the hard things we have to do everyday, the most difficult one of them all is to keep going”- Fred Swaniker .

This quote clearly explains that consistency in a thing isn’t easy; and this applies to becoming a professional developer. Most programmers and tech enthusiasts would testify that grit is a non-negotiable skill that every developer ought to possess. Grit is the perseverance and passion to achieve long–term goals. In fact, this is applicable in all spheres of life. However, my emphasis would be just for developers. I've had my share of discouragements and urge to quit or throw-in the towel; nights where I had series of bugs; days when my hard drive crashed and I lost almost all my projects, days when I had some seemingly insurmountable projects and times when pressures of life weighed me down. In the process, I learnt determination and resilience and I'm glad to tell you that it paid off.

Grit is and will always be part of peoples' success stories; this is because nothing good comes easy. Four things fuels your grit- courage, perseverance, resilience and passion. If you do not develop these things, it would be so hard for you to reach that desired goal. Beyond stacking up your skill set, you also need to develop your mindset because that's where you get the will power to continue in what you're doing. Angela Duckworth explained that success isn't only about intellectual IQ, instead it's mainly composed of passion and resilience. This combo is called grit. There are many talented people who never follow through. In fact, talent doesn't make you gritty. Grit is usually unrelated or even inversely related to measures of talent.

I'm not here to bore you but permit me to mention one more thing that's got to be in place if you want to become a professional developer-a growth mindset.

"In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” ( Dweck, 2015)

You need to understand that the ability to learn is not fixed; it can change with your effort. So when you're faced with a great task, or tons of bugs in your project, you need a growth mindset that'll push you to keep pressing on.

Hope you've gained knowledge from this article?? What's your own grit story? Don't hesitate to like and share... 😊 😊 You can reach out to me on twitter @princessmaggy7. 😊