It always amazes me how much I’ve learned...

It always amazes me how much I’ve learned from activities outside my specific job in software engineering. One such area is water polo, an intense sport I’ve been playing since I was 13. " "" "One of my very first coaches was Aaron Cavagnolo, and I remember one day he gave us a swim set that was hard but doable and said: “If anyone misses any of this, we’ll start all over as a team.” No pressure!" "" "We got very close to the end, and I cramped up pretty bad, so I stopped midway through a set, and he just started shaking his head. I think I tried to plead my case that I was cramping, but he didn’t care: as everyone came back to the wall and stopped, he announced we were starting over. I then completed the whole set, my cramp going away on its own halfway through. " "" "Why is this relevant? Well, from this, I’ve learned that through pain can come great success and a feeling of accomplishment. I still remember that workout because of how I felt after it. So when difficulties come up at work, when the pain starts, but the goal is clear and is something you believe in, it’s always possible to overcome those difficulties and achieve what you desire. " "" "Being able to push through hiccups and annoyances that inevitably come up in our day-to-day life is a fundamentally valuable skill, and water polo has helped show me that. Software engineering is no different: there are always new roadblocks and issues that come up in a developer’s day-to-day, but having a sightline of an important goal will make all those challenges worth the trouble with how the accomplishment of that goal will feel. " "" "Persevere, and you will reach your goals, and your victories will taste sweeter for all the challenges you’ve faced! " "" "If you’re in the US, happy Labor Day! Have a great week, everyone #bendevtip

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Original post on LinkedIn