You should make yourself independent of externals. – Epictetus
Reflection
We crave simplicity.
Yet we layer complexity line by line, abstraction by abstraction.
Another helper function. Another hook.
Another library wrapping the thing we never truly understood.
When something breaks, we patch.
When something works, we extend.
And in the name of elegance, we bury the essential beneath layers of the unnecessary.
But real mastery isn't additive.
It's subtractive.
It's knowing what no longer serves and cutting it.
A pattern you no longer need.
A rule you no longer question.
A belief about your skill that's quietly holding you back.
The Stoics knew this.
They didn't chase strength.
They uncovered it.
By shedding status.
Shedding noise.
Returning to what is accurate, durable, and precise.
So must we.
The senior developer not only refactors systems but also optimizes them.
They refactor the self.
Not to prove they know more.
But to prove they can let go.
What you hold onto defines what holds you back.
Today's Insight
You don't achieve simplicity.
You uncover it.
Action Steps
- Delete to Reveal - Review your last three pull requests. Where did clarity lose to cleverness? Strip one layer away. Reread the function. Does it still need explaining?
- Audit the Anchor - Write down three assumptions baked into your last architectural choice. Then ask: Do they hold? Or have they just been around the longest?
- Lean into Friction - Cut one tool. Rebuild without it. Wherever you flinch is where you've been outsourcing your growth.
- Simplify Security - Complexity creates blind spots. Open your auth or state logic. What can you replace with a simpler, safer default?
Consider This
What belief about "clean code" have you outgrown but still obey?
What part of your stack are you defending for pride, not purpose?
What would break if you let it go?
And what truth might finally emerge?