Just Go For It

Start early, be determined.

on 2023-05-22 by Mert Bora İnevi

Since I have started studying computer science, I noticed that people around me would build nice software using their acquired knowledge, and some would look after them with their jaws dropped. People would even compliment me for just doing what I enjoy, like building this website or making mediocre character drawings. This is surprising to me since it feels like I did not have any talent or anything; I was just enthusiastic about what I did and spent months and years trying to get better at it.

From my personal experience above, there are two factors which divide people as those who make things and those who look after them. First is how early you began doing, and the second is how enthusiastic and enduring you are while doing.

Beginning early is always an advantage. In Turkish we say “Erken kalkan yol alır.” It means the one who wakes up early makes progress. I owe my success to getting my hands into stuff all the way back in middle school. Of course, I had the advantage of having modern parents who provided me with some of the equipment and expertise I needed to start. However, they were never the ones who initiated me. I would dig through books, magazines, and later Reddit, get curious and try out the ideas I found in whatever situation I am in and with whatever I had in my hand. When I had a drawing idea during class, I would doodle it in the corner of the notebook immediately or when I saw a computer program printed inside a book, I would copy it into MS Word without knowing that my approach is wrong. However, only this way I would get the chance to learn from my mistakes. You can spend months or years trying to master the technique before bringing your ideas to life, but sometimes you best learn by doing, so you progress the earliest and fastest if you start by trying yourself.

Additionally, being determined when doing something new is also important. When you see those who do something better than you should not bother you that much, or only bother you in a productive way. We are all humans after all and all of us and those handicapped with sufficient help are free to observe and try what the better ones do differently. It should only take time at worst. During the time it takes it is important to not lose motivation if the learning curve is high. The most important causes of motivation loss are those who tell you against doing something and those who talk about how hard the thing is. To rectify those, you can try to first stop negatively talking to yourself and then get rid of the other people or change them by standing determined. A person will not be afraid of anything if they are not under self or peer pressure. Once you stay motivated during the process, great results await in the end.

In conclusion, we can see going for something is a multiple step process that takes time and motivation. To take advantage of time one must start early and to keep motivation one must get rid of discouraging agents. But first, one must start the moment they have the next big idea to get maximal advantage of any of that.