## Closing The Gap
+I'd love to tell you that there's a way to close the gap; a way to say you've learned it all and can feel confident that you have mastered programming.
+Sadly I haven't found a way to close that gap.
+
+You can keep learning everything there is to know about whatever topic you've chosen to learn. You can take every course available. You can attend every talk and colloquium, read papers about the subject, and even do your own research and you can still feel like you haven't closed the gap.
+
+So if there's no way to completely close the gap what can you do?
+
+There's three options available to you:
+
+The first option is to not try. Realizing that there will always be more to learn can be disheartening so it's easier to just tell yourself that you'll never be able to close the gaps in your knowledge so why even bother with it.
+
+The second option is to try and become frustrated when you realize how much further you have to go. You'll grab every book, blog post, paper, video, or what-have-you to try to learn the topic and then realize that even with all of that you have a finite amount of time to learn the topic. You'll get frustrated that you didn't figure out that you needed to close this gap sooner and you'll look over your progress and see how much further you need to go.
+
+The third option is the more measured approach. You'll start small with small tasks and work your way toward the goal. Rather than look at the gap as something to be closed you'll realize that you can't know the totality of whatever topic you're learning and instead enjoy the knowledge that you receive in its pursuit. You'll keep a steady pace toward learning as much as you can but instead of lamenting that you didn't start sooner you'll be glad that you started at all.
+
+Of these three options the first and third are the ones where you'll find the most contentment. The first option (not trying) allows you to sit with the knowledge you have. But there's a downside to just staying in place. Our industry is constantly changing and technology continues to move. What used to be the norm becomes legacy and what was just around the corner becomes the thing that is in demand.
+
+One of the most useful skills of a developer is the ability to adapt to new technology. As our technological environment changes our ability to adapt to those changes allows us to continue on as developers. Faster machines, different technologies, different devices, different requirements; each of these things brings us exciting challenges if we recognize them. But they also take time to learn and create gaps in our knowledge. So relying on our previous knowledge to carry us through these changes isn't going to be enough. We're challenged to adapt to the new surroundings.
+
+The second option (becoming frustrated) is the least optimal path forward. Trying to learn quickly by grabbing every available resource and jamming it into our brains is a way to frustration, fatigue, and burnout. Many developers try to do this because they see they need to adapt to the new environment but it's difficult to make sweeping changes all at once. And measuring your progress by how much further you feel you need to go means you discount the progress you've made.
+
+Of those three options it's the third option that makes the most sense. Taking a more measured approach to closing the gaps in our knowledge allows us more joy in our learning process. By breaking down each of the steps on our journey we give ourselves little wins along the way. Instead of expecting a grand transformation we allow ourselves gradual changes and mutations to adapt to our environment.
+
+With this measured and gradual approach we also gain the wisdom that gaps don't have to be closed. We can allow ourselves to keep learning in the areas that we need to and gradually build up our skills. We can realize that closing the gap is an illusion. We can only become more expert in whatever topic we chose to learn.
+
+## The Journey is the Reward
projects / themediocreprogrammer.git / commitdiff