It’s time to live for the small things in life, and I don’t just mean short kings. It’s easy to get caught up in the grind of everyday life and only focus on the big picture. Like gym bros and getting swol. We can easily get lost in the big goals and major milestones, but what about the things we achieve along the way. I’ve learnt through crippling self-doubt and imposter syndrome that looking at the end goal isn’t always the best thing. This may not make sense as obviously we need to know where we want to get to, but how we get there is even more important. Being in the tech industry, this can be an excellent motivator. Let me explain.

A goal of mine is to sell or have an active income from a software product I’ve built myself. It’s been a goal ever since I was in school thinking of app ideas. Eventually after finishing my honours in university and deciding I will stop studying in order to focus on my side business in my spare time, I started working towards this. Sadly, I still have not launched a product. I’ve ended up doing a lot of design and websites to make money - which is also cool I guess. This is an example of something that really disappoints me. I am not saying I have a million dollar idea waiting but I haven’t even gotten close to knowing if I can make a single dollar, and with the current state of the Rand that’s probably a lot of money. I haven’t fully developed out an idea. My problem has been both with starting and finishing an idea. I usually stick to the structure of a system being database, web api and front-end.

Side note for non-technical readers:

  • “Database” - where the information is stored for an app.
  • “Web API“- a service that does processing on the data.
  • “Front-end” - the app or website that users interact with.

Here’s how it goes:

  1. I note down an idea or start with an idea already written down
  2. I get the database design done
  3. I finish a basic version of the web api (getting, updating and deleting data)

OR

  1. I sit with the database design and don’t finalize it

My crutch has always been developing the front-end. From my work experience I did not have exposure to a mobile development language like Android or Apple’s Swift. Neither did I have experience in a cross-platform (Android & iOS) language. This held me back a lot. Recently, in my current job I have been given the time and support to upskill and I have been developing my front-end skills. This is exciting as I am looking forward to being ready to build apps and finally finish my ideas, but that’s beside the point.

If I take this scenario, my goal is to deliver applications, I have failed. I’ve wanted to release an app or apps and I have failed to do so. I can look at this situation as a total failure or I can take a different perspective. For one, I have a lot of ideas written down, with some work put into it that can be easy starting points for future projects. Two, I have improved my database and web api skills along the way. Three, setting up a side-business to deliver apps helped me to make money from graphic design, websites, a desktop app and photography. For the first year that I did this, I actually got a few clients. If I look at it like that, it seems much better than viewing it as 0 delivery. I’ve setup a website and domain, started a blog (sort of related, not sure yet), developed websites and designed a few things. This is awesome, I’ve actually done things.

Why do I still feel disappointed though?

I’m not making millions. I didn’t develop the latest and greatest app. I don’t have Cristiano Ronaldo’s abs.

Sorry not sure how that last one got in there.

It’s natural, or I could say human, to want better. Sadly “want better” can also translate to feeling inferior or that we are lacking. This can make us feel like we have not achieved anything because we are not at the same level of those trying to achieve what we want. We therefore need to program our brains to know that we are doing good. We might not be at the end goal, we might not get there ever to be honest, but we are getting somewhere. That’s perfectly fine. Progress is progress.

So how do we convince ourselves we are achieving? How do we celebrate before winning the whole game?

Here are my ideas:

  • Review your work, all the time. You might not be at 100% but are you at 10%? 20%? That’s great! Look at what you’ve done, literally doing anything should be celebrated because sometimes that is not easy. Take smaller tasks or steps that you have completed as part of your larger journey and be happy about them! Reward yourself, take a break, acknowledge your work.
  • Write down each and every goal you can think of. Coming up with a name for a project/business, nice, good job! Planning out some work to do, amazing. Completed your task list for the morning, well done! The point of this is to celebrate everything, hopefully this will help us enjoy and realize our progress.
  • Keep a journal of things you’ve done that you’re happy about. This could be as simple as typing a line in a notepad or messaging yourself on WhatsApp. If you were happy or relieved after completing a certain task, make a note, acknowledge it. At certain milestones you can take a look back at all the amazing things you have achieved and how happy you were for each of them.
  • This is cliché but be positive. If you feel yourself looking at the negative side of a project/task/job, force yourself to identify at least one positive thing. I think its really important that we don’t pressure ourselves with having to complete monumental tasks or achievements all the time.

I hope that you reading this can get a sense of achievement from something in your life. You woke up today, and that is good. Be happy, celebrate everything!