How should a man live, if he does not study what is real? – Epictetus
Reflection
We say we're learning. But too often we're just hoarding.
We scan docs. Watch talks. Skim patch notes, hoping something useful sticks. But knowledge doesn't settle until the work pushes back until a system fails, and your name shows up in the trace.
That's when the lesson leaves a mark.
Not the kind with certificates. The kind with scars.
The test you skipped reappears as a breach. The abstraction you rushed became a black box no one dares to touch. You didn't just ship code. You taught the system how to break like you.
The Stoics didn't seek comfort. They sought resistance. They knew growth didn't come from affirmation, but from confronting what you thought was true and refining what held up.
The work teaches. But only if you let it correct you.
Today's Insight
The bug you let slide. The name you left unclear. The edge case you skipped.
You don't just write it. You reinforce it.
And the system reflects it back.
You're not just learning code.
The code is learning you.
Action Steps
- Revisit the Break - Open your last production bug. Walk it back. What bias or assumption shaped that outcome? Name it.
- Receive, Don't React - Ask a teammate what habit weakens your work. Not a flaw. A pattern. The kind you stopped noticing.
- Pick the Scar - Choose one painful lesson. Write it down. Then, harden your process by adding a test, defining a check, and drawing a line.
- Trade Clever for Clear - Rename something overdesigned. Remove the spin. Say what it does. Say only what it does.
Consider This
What has your code been trying to show you?
What truth have you ignored three times?
What weakness is quietly becoming your default?
Stay humble. Stay unfinished. Let the work reshape you.
Not just what you write.
Who you become.