Understand your “why”
Reasons you might be here:
- You hate your current job/career
- You need a higher paying job
- You enjoy computers and technology
- You have an idea and you want to learn how to build it
- You interact with software developers and want to understand them better
- You enjoy learning new things
Before you set out to learn anything, make sure you are familiar with why you want to learn this new thing. This applies to everything in life. The first step is building the right mindset.
Why do you want to learn to code? Why do you want a new job? You should have a vision of what you want your life to look like.
If learning to code is a part of getting you to that vision then you will learn how to code. If getting a new job is part of getting you to that vision then you will get that new job. Maybe coding will be a way to obtain financial freedom. Maybe you have an idea that could make a positive impact on your life, or a loved one’s life, and you want to be able to turn that idea into reality exactly the way you want it to be.
What is important to you? Maybe your health? Relationships in your life? Financial stability? Take a moment and think about what is important to you, and what you feel called to do. What are your dreams?
Being able to visualize these things, even if you can’t fully articulate them, is a step closer in achieving the goal that you set out to achieve by reading this book.
Road Trip Analogy:
Let’s say my goal is to drive from my home in Columbus, Ohio, to Seattle, Washington. Here’s a map of what that journey could look like.
A journey like that might take about 6 days if I drove around 6 hours each day.
Now let’s zoom in on that stretch near Minneapolis.
Multiple construction zones, looks like stopped traffic a bit further west. Maybe I’m driving in January and there’s a blizzard as well. Maybe my car breaks down. Maybe I’m traveling with someone who is a nightmare to travel with. All things that could happen.
Now why am I driving to Seattle? Depending on my “why” I may decide to just turn around and head back to Columbus, since I’m still not even halfway to Seattle. Maybe I just wanted to road trip and visit the city and some sights along the way, and I could reschedule it to another time. Or maybe my “why” is so powerful and motivating that nothing would prevent me from getting there, like moving there for a dream job.
I’ll periodically revisit this analogy but for now I just want to use it to provide some imagery for the importance of finding your why, so that when the road blocks inevitably show up, that you will continue on to your destination.
Further Reading:
I am working at Amazon to support my family. It’s a sacrifice I am willing to make so that their wellbeing is improved.
I want to make the world a better place to live for Lucy and future generations.
You have to fight for what you believe in. Everybody has different life experiences and beliefs, assuming that people will just know your beliefs and cater to them will result in failure to meet your needs/beliefs.
what are your goals in life? does your day to day align with your goals?
I want you to take a moment and map out your journey. Use the space provided if you want, or do it in your own journal, or go all out and buy some art supplies and make it something you’ll hang up in your work space. Include all the possible pitfalls or roadblocks you can think of that could make you want to quit. Include checkpoints in your journey, sub-goals that will lead up to the main goal. In my example one of those was getting that intermediary job where I could develop new experiences.
I encourage you to take your time on this, give it plenty of thought and reflection. This is the most important part of the journey, and if you skip this step you will be jeopardizing making any real lasting impact or progress.