I’ve always had this feeling of wanting to do more and challenge myself to reach the potential that I so desperately want to reach. In this pattern, the deep end is one that all aspiring craftsmen want to reach, and any apprentice or journeyman needs to gain that experience or take on a project that will finally take them to the next level. I know when I’m faced with a new challenge it can sometimes grow into fear because I’m not going to lie I have a really bad case of Atychiphobia, well it’s not that bad but failing in any task can put me down and so it’s easier for me to take an easier task when I can rather challenging myself in something that will benefit me in the long run. The most reassuring thing that’s even mentioned in the book itself is that when working in the field, taking risks will rarely result in destroying one’s career, especially when it comes to the IT world. So, reading this out loud makes me feel better about failing a task, no matter how I perform, I will still end up learning something in the end and I can take my failures in stride to create better solutions for the next big challenge.
Although taking some risks should be encouraged to take one to the next level, it is important to recognize whether the risk will pay off for the individual, it’s important to communicate with other people or a mentor and get their feedback on whether or not it’s wise to take on the risk and whether the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The book will emphasize that if the risk and challenges seem to be too out of the ordinary then it’s important to create a “Feedback Loops” the options are laid in from of you when need be. And for me especially, I tend to fall back on this quite often when trying to make big decisions for myself. It’s also important to save yourself once taking the risk. As the book refers to it as “drowning”; being able to bounce back when things don’t work as the plan is important hence why the feedback loop is Important.
Sources:
Hoover, Dave H., and Adewale Oshineye. Apprenticeship Patterns: Guidance for the Aspiring Software Craftsman. O’Reilly, 2010.
From the blog CS@Worcester – FindKelvin by Kelvin Nina and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.