I recently listened to and really enjoyed this podcast episode from Scott Hansleman: “Myself. Its not weird at all”
In it, he touches on such a wide range of concepts: discipline and consistency, doing what you love, “Yes, and” instead of “no” as a redirect. He talks about deliberate practice, imposter syndrome, mindfulness, commitment to what is important, and making time.
Some choice quotes that really resonated with me:
- “Most people live their lives accepting the defaults. If you are deliberate about installing something, you hit custom.”
- Curiosity has been a major component to my learning, both professionally and personally. I see an “advanced” window on an installer wizard, and I can’t help but click it just to find out what’s hidden there. I feel the same way outside of work too – be curious about why I think the way I think, believe what I believe; be curious about how things work in a physical sense and a conceptual sense.
- “By simply being mindful, you cannot stop but improving”
- This thought gives me encouragement that even small intentional actions can have a positive impact. Even if I’m not feeling particularly capable, even if I’m not crushing a project or task, even if I haven’t been dedicated to deep learning, I can still be on an upward trend by being aware, considerate, and mindful of my actions and those around me.
- “Yes there are a thousand little things where someone can make me question who I am, and am I good; but then I go back and look at what I do, and what I have made and say “no, I did that and I’m going to give myself credit”.”
- Often times for me, this is as much giving myself permission to be proud of what I have accomplished and reflect on it a little bit, rather than discount my efforts for a variety of reasons that my mind is surely able to conjure up.
- “Why do I feel like an imposter talking to this person? The reason is because of the road not taken; This person did something I did not do, and I’m intimidated because they stuck with it when I did not.”
- I frequently question and doubt some of my decisions, particularly when I see people have success on alternate paths. I need to remind myself that their success in no way invalidates my path – if I am confident in who I am and what I do, I can celebrate their success rather than wonder what could have been.
Highly recommended listen.
