Unleashing the Best Software Developer Within: My Mindset Journey

In this day and age, not being influenced is almost impossible with technology becoming a major part of our life. It depends upon you whether you get influenced by a positive influence or a negative influence. We know deep down, all the negative influences in our life that are impacting our day-to-day life, things like scrolling mindlessly on social media and playing video games all day long. I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science but to be honest, I was a pathetic loser who procrastinated on tasks and assignments that needed to be completed for a significant portion of the 4 years that I spent earning that degree. I took a stroll through life by performing mindless activities all day long. 2020 was the year that changed it all for me. I had time to reflect on my life and considering all the factors, it was not heading in the right direction. It was time to dig deep and fix my life. The first time in my life when I feared that I will end up not achieving anything in life. That is when I came across the concept of "Antivision".

"Antivision" is a process wherein I visualized how I would end up if I continued the same habits every day, for the next 365 days. "Antivision" is the process where you sit in front of a book and a pen and write down who you "do not" want to be. People usually write down their goals and who they want to be in the next 365 days all the time. But most of them fail to achieve what they set out to do. This is mainly because they aren't afraid of being in the same place(or worse) in life if they don't stick to it. And this is where "Antivision" comes into the picture. For me, "Antivision 2020" was to not end up unemployed, spending time mindlessly and getting fat. I started waking up early and working out. I started studying algorithms during my 5th semester, which is late by all means. Could you believe that? As a computer science undergrad, I hadn't actually "studied" and "understood" data structures and algorithms till 5th semester. Gradually, I developed my problem-solving skills but I had to face reality. The problem is, I am a slow learner, For example, If it took you 1 hour to understand a programming concept, it would take me 2 or maybe even 3 hours to understand the same concept. Most of the companies hire during the 6th semester and since I hadn't spent enough time solving problems on leetcode, I could not clear most of the coding interviews. I got rejected by multiple companies. Fortunately, I got a job in a service-based company. But I knew the work was not done. I continued solving problems and enhancing my skill set. It took me one whole year of consistent practice when I finally cracked a product-based company. I joined a startup as a full-stack developer and I have had the most growth in life, mentally and physically this past year. The point is, Fear can be one of the greatest motivation in your life. I feared that I would end up not achieving anything in life, which lead me to take the next best step. So instead of only focusing on positive goal setting, What worked for me was to think as negatively as possible and ensure that I take the necessary steps to avoid that path of life. Be raw and honest with yourself when writing down the "Antivision" of your life. I had to create an alter ego. Some of you might be familiar with David Goggins, If not, look him up. Every morning when I sit down to code, I summon "Goggins mode". I become Goggins for the next 10-12 hours making myself ultra-productive for the majority of my day. Only three distractions are allowed: Water, bathroom breaks and coffee. So this is how I flipped my mindset to become the best software developer that I can be.

Thanks for reading. Cheers. :)