“At Least You’re Aware of Your Incompetence” (aka Start Learning)
Posted: February 24, 2011 | Author: psygrammer | Filed under: Inner Game | Tags: awarenesss, changing behavior, competence, learning, the zone | Leave a comment »“I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.” Winston Churchill
After I gave a talk recently I was pulled aside by a colleague. He pointed out that the way I expressed one topic had the potential to put off one of the groups present. To my credit I was consciously aware of the problem during the talk but unfortunately I couldn’t stop myself.
My colleague’s response… “At least you’re aware of your incompetence!“
He didn’t mean I was generally incompetent. Instead his point was that the first step in learning is to become aware of a limitation in your knowledge or capability.
This post tackles two questions about learning. Beyond awareness of incompetence what are the stages of learning? Why can learning or changing behavior be particularly difficult? Read the rest of this entry »
The Flow - Programming in Ecstasy
Posted: February 10, 2011 | Author: psygrammer | Filed under: Inner Game, Management | Tags: Creativity, Productivity, Programming, The Flow, the zone | 1 Comment »I once worked in an office with a timed motion sensor light switch. If it didn’t detect motion in the office for 20 minutes or so it would turn off the lights.
When I was programming “In The Zone” the lights would switch off repeatedly and often over hours of work. Each time I’d flail my arms briefly to get the lights back and return to the task at hand, back into the zone. Eventually I would get the hint, switch my mind off, stretch and go home to wife and kids.
I enjoyed being in the zone… greatly. I lost track of time. I lost awareness of my surrounds. I was detached from everything around me and was immersed in my task. It felt great but strangely I wasn’t really aware of that feeling when in the zone.
PsyJargon page added
Posted: February 10, 2011 | Author: psygrammer | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »Every programmer should demonstrate their breathtaking knowledge through use of obscure jargon and TLAs. At least, that’s what I’ve seen many programmers attempt.
Since the world doesn’t have enough jargon (yet) I humbly offer the PsyJargon list with a mix of some new terminology intermixed with some time-proven jargon.
Look for the suggestion box at the bottom if you’d like to add something. Let me know if you want attribution. Or perhaps you instead prefer to celebrate your internet anonymity.
Cheers,
Andrew H. - Psygrammer
You can do anything, but you can’t do everything
Posted: February 4, 2011 | Author: psygrammer | Filed under: Inner Game, Management | Tags: discipline, micromanagement, Overachiever | Leave a comment »A quick post today. It’s into the high 30′s (that’s approaching 100F for the US) and humid. There’s no A/C. So there’s not much thought going on. Anyway…
I heard this advice today on the Advanced Selling Podcast.
You can do anything, but you can’t do everything
