The Growth Mindset — Overcoming Fear of Test Driven Development
“If you imagine less, less will be what you undoubtedly deserve,” — Debbie Millman (American writer)
That opening statement sums up the reason why I view challenges, not as mountain-like obstacles I am not smart enough to solve, but as challenges, I have not solved yet. That given time, and diligent effort, I will be able to master the skills or resources to tackle them.
A recent example is working on test driven development. Prior to the boot camp challenge, I hardly wrote tests, I felt what was more important were the features to be delivered. Thinking about it alone made me feel that the tests were harder than the individual features I was to implement and I felt stuck.
How did I overcome that? First, I reminded myself that my journey so far as a software developer was not a smooth ride, it was a journey of conquered challenges. And for every obstacle I tackled, I learned something new. Motivated, I started reading blog posts on how TDD was done for an API.
I broke down the implementation of the testing stage into parts. I installed and got familiar with the libraries I was to use by reading parts of the documentation, matching what I read with what was used in the blog articles. So I wrote the first test, and after fixing many errors, it passed. I was so happy and motivated that I wrote 2 others within a shorter period of time compared to the first one.
This recent experience helps me see that one is not born to have a static or growth mindset, a growth mindset has to be cultivated. It unlocks the potential we have to achieve what a static mindset believes is impossible considering our makeup. Moreso, I have learned that operating in the space outside my comfort zone is the best for my growth.
