Many years ago when speaking to a professional colleague, I said if it is difficult to do, you probably should not be doing it that way. It was in reference to doing Java coding for a piece of User Interface. That one statement has come back to haunt me many times, as well as being repeated back to me. But perhaps it needs a better explanation, as the sentiment applies in more situations than just programming. Back to that thought in a moment.
I have for some time noticed that people do not seem as self-confident as they once were. This seems to be particularly true of the younger generations and of females. If you are young and female, then you seem to get a double dose. I am not sure where this came from or how we got here. When I was in high school, I had many self-confident peers and role models. I am not sure they would have identified as themselves such then or now. But I still see, read, or hear of those people today and my impression of them has not changed. This is especially true of the females from that time of my younger life. Today they are still people to look up to.
So where did things go so wrong? I have my own self-confidence issues, but I usually recognize them and have my own method for dealing with them. I do have a couple suspects: school testing and social pressure.
Tests promoted as a means of measuring your worth as an individual. Wrong: You can only be successful if you pass the tests. Right: Knowing how you failed a test makes you a better person. So perhaps the thought is you cannot fail if you do not take the test. I was in a chat room recently where a younger college aged female shared one of her New Year’s resolutions. She wanted to show more of her creative self this year, as in sharing artwork and videos she had made. Another female chimed in that she had you tube videos she had not published. The sentiment being these works were "not good enough" to share. I was floored. I did not know what to say.
Social pressure also causes angst. In order to be found worth in the current social world, you have to be perfect and never make a mistake. If you are not perfect, anything you create is not worthy of being seen. This is where females seem to get an extra dose. The expectation is that females have to smile and look their best in order to be taken seriously. Where did that come from? Nothing could be farther from the truth. I have done artwork. Some of that artwork has received praise. I am not an artist. I am not perfect. I do not want to be perfect. I do art when I must and it is some of the most time consuming work I ever do.
So what does self-confidence have to do with difficult? Something that a person finds difficult may cause them to loose confidence in themselves. Something being difficult means either you have not learned an easier way to do it or that there is a better way to do it. Just because I find artwork difficult, does not mean it is difficult for everyone. Some people are just better at artwork than me. There are things that I find easy that others find difficult. You should not let it being difficult diminish your self-confidence. Programmers are notoriously lazy, but this is with good reason. Lazy programmers make things that are easy to use.
Homework: If someone you know has a creative hobby, encourage them. Get them sharing. A lot of creative endeavors are easily shared in today's connected world. Yes, they will probably get the "it sucks" comments. But hopefully at least one person sees and appreciates what they are doing. If you are that creative person, are you sharing pictures or the work itself? You do not need to share 100 a day, 1 a week is enough. Share a picture of a work in progress of that sock you are knitting or wall mural you are painting. Post a character description from that story. Post that epic clip of you majorly messing up your lines for a play. Or share your latest completed awesome work.
Extra Credit: Find someone not famous who is sharing their creative endeavors that you do not personally know or know that well and complement them on their work. If you can't find a complement find someone else. There are plenty of people out there looking for validation and encouragement that you should be able to find something you like.
Short note on where I am: Still working with controllers for Maze Pseudo along with other enhancements. Current target is to be done with that in a week or two. Then it is on to Maze Pseudo for Apple TV for two to four weeks. After that is not determined, but there are several candidates. Lastly, I plan on doing this type work for the rest of the year. At the end of the year is my first decision point to determine if things are going in the right direction. Till then, I already have a job and have plenty to keep me busy.
#beawesomebeyou or #beyoubeawesome
