How to Continue on the Path When You Want to Give Up
Tags: webdev, beginners, programming, discuss
Published: 2023-04-08 18:49:53

I've been studying Computer Science concepts now for the past couple of years, and I wish I could say that the path has been easy and lined with roses.  Actually, the exact opposite is true.  The path to build my skills has been a very difficult one and many times I still feel like a failure.  I look at my own work and wonder why it's not as good as other people's work.  I look at challenges from Hackerrank or Front End Mentor and many times I just feel lost.

With my current job, I work as an English teacher and I'm very fortunate that I have made a lot of good friends that are programmers.  I'm drawn to the idea that I can work with technology and I can be creative.  These are two things that I get very passionate about and I'm excited that even though I still feel like I suck at programming, this pushes me forward.

Many times, I have a love hate relationship with this profession.  There are many times when I have a bug or I spend so much time trying to figure out a problem that I want to run my head through a wall.  I guess maybe it's a good thing that the walls where I live are made of brick, so that kind of stops me there, but if you've been down this path I'm positive you know how this feels.  Then all of a sudden, you find the solution to this problem and it's the best feeling in the world.  Many people that I talk to relate this to feeling like a wizard or a god, because now I've found the solution to this problem and I've made this thing work that has taunted me for so long.

Spending a lot of time with these ups and downs, takes a toll on the body and the mind.  After a while, many people feel like they want to just give up.  Many times I've wondered if this was the right industry for me and maybe I just need to stop.  There are already people who are much smarter than I am, not to mention the AI is coming and is going to take all of our jobs anyway.  But, there is something that I have been learning along the way.  None of that matters.  Also, there is a way to get around our problems when they become too difficult or when we look at our goals and think that they are insurmountable.

The first thing that I believe that helps is to know that when we are feeling this way, we are not alone.  Actually, to feel this way is very normal.  We all go through this time, and the important thing to realize is that the thing that makes us successful is not failure or success exactly but the thing that makes us actually successful is not giving up.  Things will be hard but that's ok.  Don't give up.

When I realize that I need to keep pushing and that there isn't any new problem under the sun, but the problem still seems way too big, I need to change my thinking about the problem.  Usually, it's my current thinking about the problem that is really contributing to this current problem.  Also, as I'm changing my thinking about the problem, I can maybe look at the problem in a different way, but maybe I can start to break that problem down into smaller pieces.  I don't really need to worry about conquering the whole mountain right now, but I only need to worry about taking the next step.  Taking the next step is a lot less intimidating than climbing the whole mountain.  We have a saying, "The best way to eat an elephant, is one piece at a time."  We go little bit by little bit and then before we know it, we have gone much further than we've ever thought that we could before.

If you feel down and not sure you can continue, don't worry.  Find someone else.  Tell them what you are going through.  Think about these different things, and remember that tomorrow is a new day.