Tony St. Pierre

Code. Reflect. Evolve.

Day 33: Adapting to Changing Requirements with Patience

Key Takeaways

Priorities shift, specs change, and strong developers don't resist it. They adapt with clarity and turn the chaos into something more substantial.

He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe. – Zeno of Citium

Reflection

You've been heads down for a while.
One bug leads to another. Something breaks. Something holds. Then it shifts again.
It's close now. Feels steady. Reads well. Nothing feels rushed.

Then things shift. The goal moves, or someone new steps in with a different take.

You feel it settle in before the meeting even ends.
That edge in your gut. The part that wants to resist it.
But the work wasn't lost. It taught you how to start again without losing your footing.

The Stoics understood this kind of disruption.
Zeno said, "He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe."
In development, that means working with change instead of resenting it.
No roadmap stays fixed. Feedback always arrives late. You don't get to steer the wind, but you do set the sail.

The developers who last don't treat change as a threat.
They pause, get clear, and move with it.
They rebuild with less noise and more intention.

They write code that adapts.
Their systems hold steady when things shift.
What follows is often stronger than what they started with.

Today's Insight

You don't control the shift.
You control how you move through it.

Action Steps

  1. Sometimes, the best first move is to do nothing - Let the shift breathe. Let your thoughts catch up. Clarity shows up when the reaction steps aside.
  2. Get clear on what changed - Talk to the person behind the request. Try to understand what shifted on their end. Most confusion comes from not asking early enough.
  3. Write like the code will need to move again - Keep your functions small. Name things so someone else won't have to guess. Build in ways that let the structure grow without breaking.

Consider This

Think back to a moment when everything shifted late.
Did you meet it with resistance or pause long enough to adjust with clarity?

Read: Day 29: Patience is a Developer's Superpower

Week 5 Insight

Day 29: Patience is a Developer's Superpower

Great developers practice patience, turning rushed work into maintainable, high-quality code. Progress comes from consistency, clarity, and a commitment to the process, not speed.

Cultivate Stoic Insight →
Read: Day 4: Embrace Reality, Not Expectations

Week 1 Insight

Day 4: Embrace Reality, Not Expectations

Clarity begins when you stop resisting change. Great developers don't cling to what was. They adjust purposefully, refocus their energy, and build with what's real. The result is more substantial, cleaner, and more resilient.

Cultivate Stoic Insight →
Read: Day 104: Return to First Principles

Week 15 Insight

Day 104: Return to First Principles

Developers create drift when they forget their principles. Clear thinking, clean architecture, and resilient systems all begin by returning to what matters most.

Cultivate Stoic Insight →