A while ago I joined the facebook network. When I started to fill the part about me in the profile section, it reminded me of something that started out a while ago.
Finding Programming Zen
A while ago, I worked for the marketing and research company, NPD. While I was there, I met some interesting people, but like most of the jobs that I had worked at in the past, it was the usual job that paid the bills. Not something that was too particularly fulfilling from a programmers standpoint.
It was at some point that I thought to myself, where will I be in ten years. Will I have spent my time doing something that makes me happy?
I can’t say that my life is the usual. Nor can I say that there aren’t people out there who haven’t experienced the same things that I have. For those who have gone through the same, I tip my hat to you. It’s hard taking a moment to really look around and see if what you are doing is what makes you happy. So many times, we do the things we do to put food on the table, have money to pay the bills, and have just enough time to spend with the family.
Taking the time to stop, look and understand yourself can be the paramount moment of your life. In my life, there have been several occasions where this has happened. Where I stop and think about my life and make a discovery that totally shakes my foundation.
Sometimes, these discoveries can give me resolve. Sometimes, they scare me. But the best ones are the ones that make me feel calmer.
One of these moments is when I realized that I wasn’t true to myself. That I had to take a moment and see if what I did, was what I wanted to be doing in 10, 20, 30 years from now. Job security is great, but doing something you love is even better.
At that moment, I set out to fulfill that goal: to find programming zen. On my path towards finding zen, I found my job at Nikon.