31–40 of 40 posts
read or listen to the audio of Extreme Ownership. It will reframe your perspective on failure.
30+ years experience here. If you are any good, you will be working at the edge of your competence all the time. Sure you will have some processes in place but the real work is going to be new - full of ways to screw up. I thought "Someday I'll be good at this development stuff." Thing is, you won't really. Accept it! Drop any pretense of ego. You can't be hurt if there is no "target". Do your research of course and…
Ask your manager what they think of your performance, where you could grow, how you're doing compared to what they expected. You'll likely be pleasantly surprised. Just like people with general insecurities frequently underestimate their likable attributes, it seems you're doing the same, but with your level of competence.
This happens all the time. Though making mistakes are parts of getting experience.
> That fear of making mistakes makes it difficult to appreciate constructive criticism. I do appreciate it on an intellectual level but on an emotional level I feel more fear than appreciation. That the risk is that making any mistake could cost me my livelihood
Past experiences might drive you to feel this. Take a step back. See things objectively. Stop being paranoid.
I felt this way months ago. Then I looked around, things will be more fragile if I'm not there to support it, therefore I'm important.
I continued moving, making calculated mistakes, so are those who work with me. I progress, perfect myself, and so can you.
30+ years experience here. If you are any good, you will be working at the edge of your competence all the time. Sure you will have some processes in place but the real work is going to be new - full of ways to screw up. I thought "Someday I'll be good at this development stuff." Thing is, you won't really. Accept it! Drop any pretense of ego. You can't be hurt if there is no "target". Do your research of course and…
Except in quite a few workplaces never making mistakes is all, even more important than creating value, especially in industries that don't have to worry about making money.
thanks!
Aha, fear of mistake. Fear of others thinking I'm not good enough. Fear of loosing my job/status/life. Fear rules life. Not even just humans but all animals and living creatures. You are not alone. It rules my life too. Now what is this fear? Why should I have it? Can I have no fear? Trying to eliminate one fear is not enough, soon you'll be filled with another. In fact, fear fears itself. I think fear is what condit…
It's crazy though, because sometimes I have streaks of over a week in a "fearless" mindset and then I can regress overnight and have a week living in fear. I wonder if it's physiological or something else? The same arguments that seemed so clear are now opaque and make no sense in the "fear mode".
Aha, fear of mistake. Fear of others thinking I'm not good enough. Fear of loosing my job/status/life. Fear rules life. Not even just humans but all animals and living creatures. You are not alone. It rules my life too. Now what is this fear? Why should I have it? Can I have no fear? Trying to eliminate one fear is not enough, soon you'll be filled with another. In fact, fear fears itself. I think fear is what condit…
The more and more I progress in my personal philosophy, I see just completely dissolving the idea of this fear as essential to a live well lived. It's crazy though, because sometimes I have streaks of over a week in a "fearless" mindset and then I can regress overnight and have a week living in fear. I wonder if it's physiological or something else? The same arguments that seemed so clear are now opaque and make no s…
Here is a secret: people are self-absorbed creatures that cannot pay attention to somebody else for more than a couple of minutes. There is a non-zero probability that you are the only one that cares deeply about this - and the reason you care deeply is that you want to be better at your job. Nobody gets fired over the mistakes they make unless (1) they make the same mistake over and over again (2) they have an attit…
To solve problem (1), companies put process in place to capture patterns of the mistakes and prevent it for happening in future.
(2) is totally based on individual personality. (2) is an indicator of person having an ego and any amount of process cannot help.
The most dangerous person in the world is someone who never makes a mistake - because you know they are somewhere, you just have no idea where. Making mistakes isn't the problem. hiding them, or not being open to the possibility you are making them is far, far worse. Someone who makes a mistake, catches it and fixes it - expert. Should be kept at all costs unless making the same mistakes over and over. Someone who ma…
Integrity is important, and trust in some people had been eroded forever after some high profile outages were caused and made worse when they lied and covered up their mistakes. In one sad case, the covering up of a mistake had a human cost, as it affected the ambulance emergency service dispatch system. It was compounded by not being reported or fixed until more senior staff arrived in the morning.
Moral of the story: your ego is not the most important thing. Think of the consequences of your actions and inactions. Do the right thing, and be transparent about it. People will trust and respect you, and if your employer can't handle a couple of honest mistakes, you can find a better employer.
Here is a secret: people are self-absorbed creatures that cannot pay attention to somebody else for more than a couple of minutes. There is a non-zero probability that you are the only one that cares deeply about this - and the reason you care deeply is that you want to be better at your job. Nobody gets fired over the mistakes they make unless (1) they make the same mistake over and over again (2) they have an attit…
This is very insightful. To solve problem (1), companies put process in place to capture patterns of the mistakes and prevent it for happening in future. (2) is totally based on individual personality. (2) is an indicator of person having an ego and any amount of process cannot help.