Breaking through the glass ceiling

Introduction

In the past, I only worked alone. That was the way I liked it. My mindset was, “I can do this myself, without anyone’s help. It’s going to be more rewarding & fulfilling because of that very fact.” A point that needed to be proved to feel justified.

In all honesty that’s what I believed freelancing was when I started out. The reason I thought it to be so appealing.

To be your own agent.

To have complete freedom.

Nobody ordering you around.

The problem is it’s just not fun or enjoyable to work or think this way.

A little background

As I was getting my feet wet with web development and design in general, it was an exciting and rewarding experience. Something born from nothing, new technologies to play with and learn.

I was jumping from Billy to Jack and Jack back to Billy again

The problem was that instead of sticking steadfast & mastering a particular technology. I was jumping from Billy to Jack and Jack back to Billy again. Any new shiny framework / library or app that tickled my fancy, my curiosity always got the better of me. I wanted to know it all but I had no roadmap.

I could think of a good idea. At execution however, I would use something new, get to a point and the enthusiasm fizzled out. With it, my desire to become a developer so I returned to the world of enterprise IT.

Breaking through

As I later discovered, what I needed was a mentor, peers and like minded people to surround myself with. Everyone works differently but creatively I found that I just stagnate without the influence of my peers.

I started to work with a team on a recent development project and the change is astounding. I found my passion for development again. Creating tools and user experiences which have intuitive interfaces. Applications that appeal to the end user. There’s nothing else that I would rather to do than mix design and code.

With people though, comes compromise. A collective set of rules to help a team adhere. By thrashing around ideas with others, it provides more focus, and in a way, constraint.

Now constraint usually has a negative connotation but it can have a profound influence over anybody’s work. It is very important.

If I was to begin a project on my own, without any constraint, I would get so wrapped around what tools I could use — comparing nectarines with mandarins. I would never get started.

I have realised that I can be too analytical but it’s difficult to escape that thought process if that’s the way you have always been. Putting it out there is scary and hard for us analytical peeps. Taking a risk without fully understanding all of the possible outcomes seems counterintuitive.

You just cannot realistically have that kind of predication or control. As much as you want to create perfection, perfection is always a moving target.

I’m still learning to let go and just put it out there. Whether it’s my work or meeting new people. So much more can accomplished when you don’t over think it.

This was 1st published on my Medium Account, March 21, 2017.

https://medium.com/@misterhoots/breaking-through-the-glass-ceiling-e40592941c48