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Permission to Suck

kadavy.net

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Re: Permission to Suck

#11

Post by kadavy »

ebiester wrote: post #9

This is where my startup failed -- We made the decision to work in a new technology (then another!) but I was afraid of writing code I was less than proud of. I then proceeded to learn what I could of best practices, spending far too long experimenting with the language and far too little actually doing. In the end, we ended up with two half-baked infrastructures in two different languages and reached the trough of d…

Good points. Part of being okay with sucking is that if you're okay with sucking – you're more likely to be okay with shipping.

The surprising thing I've found about being okay about sucking at writing is that often the "barf drafts" (as I call them) that seem god-awful when I'm actually writing them, turn out being pretty darn good when I revisit them.

Re: Permission to Suck

#12

Post by criswell »

ebiester wrote: post #9

This is where my startup failed -- We made the decision to work in a new technology (then another!) but I was afraid of writing code I was less than proud of. I then proceeded to learn what I could of best practices, spending far too long experimenting with the language and far too little actually doing. In the end, we ended up with two half-baked infrastructures in two different languages and reached the trough of d…

I suffer from this as well. It's called Analysis Paralysis. Now, I just need to figure out the best way to stop it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis

Re: Permission to Suck

#13

Post by kiba »

ebiester wrote: post #9

This is where my startup failed -- We made the decision to work in a new technology (then another!) but I was afraid of writing code I was less than proud of. I then proceeded to learn what I could of best practices, spending far too long experimenting with the language and far too little actually doing. In the end, we ended up with two half-baked infrastructures in two different languages and reached the trough of d…

I just have a habit that force me to write 500 words a day, no matter what. The result? I now have 10 articles that I am trying to improve daily.

Re: Permission to Suck

#14

Post by sehrope »

criswell wrote: post #12
ebiester wrote: post #9

This is where my startup failed -- We made the decision to work in a new technology (then another!) but I was afraid of writing code I was less than proud of. I then proceeded to learn what I could of best practices, spending far too long experimenting with the language and far too little actually doing. In the end, we ended up with two half-baked infrastructures in two different languages and reached the trough of d…

I suffer from this as well. It's called Analysis Paralysis. Now, I just need to figure out the best way to stop it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis

Best fix I've found is iterative development. No better way to learn something then to try to directly apply what you're trying to learn. Build it. If it sucks, build it again. Repeat as necessary till it's 'good enough'.

Re: Permission to Suck

#15

Post by irollboozers »

kadavy wrote: post #11
ebiester wrote: post #9

This is where my startup failed -- We made the decision to work in a new technology (then another!) but I was afraid of writing code I was less than proud of. I then proceeded to learn what I could of best practices, spending far too long experimenting with the language and far too little actually doing. In the end, we ended up with two half-baked infrastructures in two different languages and reached the trough of d…

Good points. Part of being okay with sucking is that if you're okay with sucking – you're more likely to be okay with shipping. The surprising thing I've found about being okay about sucking at writing is that often the "barf drafts" (as I call them) that seem god-awful when I'm actually writing them, turn out being pretty darn good when I revisit them.

Is it possible to be good at sucking? Or, is there anyone who is the best at it, and either in frequency or strength of sucking (e.g. do you want to suck tremendously hard once or suck very little very often)?

Re: Permission to Suck

#16

Post by kadavy »

irollboozers wrote: post #15
kadavy wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good points. Part of being okay with sucking is that if you're okay with sucking – you're more likely to be okay with shipping. The surprising thing I've found about being okay about sucking at writing is that often the "barf drafts" (as I call them) that seem god-awful when I'm actually writing them, turn out being pretty darn good when I revisit them.

Is it possible to be good at sucking? Or, is there anyone who is the best at it, and either in frequency or strength of sucking (e.g. do you want to suck tremendously hard once or suck very little very often)?

Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job comes to mind. They make an art of "sucking."

Lou Reed has a horribly sucky singing voice. I love him for it.

Re: Permission to Suck

#17

Post by mcphilip »

batgaijin wrote: post #3

No! Meditation is not about thinking about nothing! It's about focusing on your breath. Think only about breathing. That sounds boring but manageable. 'Thinking about nothing' seems impossible and stupid at the same time; people who do the disservice of saying that should be slapped. The point of meditation is to learn how to control your thoughts, specifically in being able to realize that your are choosing your cur…

>That sounds boring but manageable. 'Thinking about nothing' seems impossible and stupid at the same time; people who do the disservice of saying that should be slapped.

Sounds like you could use some time meditating about your hostile attitude :) Seriously though, so much of eastern thought related to mediation involves paradoxes that a practitioner reflects on in order to grow.

Think about nothing

Observe your thoughts in a detached state

Do no work but get everything done

etc

I started learning about meditation from the standpoint of trying to detach myself from the constant buzz of thoughts (i.e. 'thinking about nothing'). I seriously doubt that there is a entirely right or wrong way to teach meditation since it ultimately involves a process of self discovery and coming up with whatever metaphor works best for oneself is an important part of the process.

Re: Permission to Suck

#18

Post by thenomad »

This is a well-worn piece of advice, but it's well-worn for a reason - because it's incredibly valuable.

Observing a lot of my friends over a lot of years, I'm starting to suspect that the willingness to fail, and particularly to fail in public, is possibly the key differentiator for people who achieve impressive things.

(I'm currently learning a new skill myself. I was sucking very badly, I'm now just sucking pretty badly, and I'm enjoying the progress.)

Re: Permission to Suck

#19

Post by irollboozers »

kadavy wrote: post #16
irollboozers wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it possible to be good at sucking? Or, is there anyone who is the best at it, and either in frequency or strength of sucking (e.g. do you want to suck tremendously hard once or suck very little very often)?

Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job comes to mind. They make an art of "sucking." Lou Reed has a horribly sucky singing voice. I love him for it.

That's a whole nother dimension though. Sucking so hard til you come out the other side, then it's a win.

Re: Permission to Suck

#20

Post by irollboozers »

vidar wrote: post #2

Many branches of meditation are based on the idea that there is no way to suck at meditating. Simply observe the thoughts arise and fade away. If you are trying to succeed at meditating you are working against your self.

This is why I hilariously love meditation. The goal is to suck at meditating, because there is no goal.
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