Get Ready To Be Frustrated
“OMG!!! Why am I getting all these errors and I just can’t figure out a way to solve them”.
“Why are the exercises in this book so difficult? I’m able to solve just 3 out of 23 exercises”.
“I typed everything this guy typed in his tutorial video. How come I’m still getting errors?”
Hey! As a new actor in this programming drama, your character must have said any of these lines above or similar ones. One thing you need to know is that every programmer you look up to now as some kind of badass, genius or demigod, also played this role at some point in their early days as programmers. So just calm down. You’re not acting weird.
Frustration is a feeling of being upset and irritated, and eventually helpless to do anything to get away with it; the feeling that no matter how hard you’re trying, still you’re not getting anywhere and you don’t even know the reason this is happening with you. The feeling of frustration especially in the early days is ABSOLUTELY NORMAL. It doesn’t mean you’re dumb, a slow learner or ‘an olodo’ like Yoruba folks would say.
Frustration, although quite painful at times, is a very positive and essential part of success. To conquer frustration, one must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the obstacles. You know the reason you decided to learn programming, so let that goal be your major focus. Have it in mind that these challenges are just stepping stones to guide you to your expected end.
TIPS TO HELP MINIMISE FRUSTRATION AS A NEW PROGRAMMER
· Distract yourself from your computer
Anytime you see yourself at the verge of being frustrated, just walk away from your computer, go and play your favorite sport or game, listen to the music you love, watch an interesting movie, or if you’re like me, eat a very nice delicacy. Just invest time in some hobby till you get calmed.
· Talk to people
“Frustration is a sign I am acting independently. The more you try your own way, the tighter the doors will stay closed” — Joyce Meyer
It is advisable to surround yourself with friends, colleagues or mentors who are ahead of you in programming and that you can easily walk up to. The person might just save you from severe headache as a result of one missing semicolon.
But please also note that you’re encouraged to always try to debug your code yourself. But once you discover it’s beyond you, TALK TO SOMEONE.
· Avoid unrealistic expectations
I know you have ideas of software you’d love to develop that can solve some of the world’s problems. CALM DOWN!!! Remember Rome was not built in a day. You just have to take your time in learning the rudimentary aspects because they form the building blocks for the big stuff you have in mind. You might need to reduce your expectations a bit. When your expectations are high, and it appears as if you’re stuck just at the beginning, it will definitely be frustrating. So just keep your goal in view and take your time.
· Practice
One common mistake some of us make starting out is that we just like to read and watch tutorial videos but are most times lazy to actually type (practise) what we’re reading/watching. I know that book has over a thousand pages and you just can’t wait to get to the next chapter. Sorry, but you just have to wait. Try to practise those examples until you can write them conveniently on your own. Don’t skip those exercises after those chapters! Try to solve as many as you can. The more you practise, the more you’re able to train your mind to think of solutions fast, you’re able to master the syntax of the programming language and you’ll be proud of yourself when you start seeing the reward of constant practice.
· Persistence
You definitely need to develop the ‘No backing out’ attitude. Let this keep ringing at the back of your mind; “No matter the challenges, I’m going to push through. I can go on a SHORT break but I’ll never back out”. Keep trying to solve problems, keep trying to debug, until you get used to it.
