chapter0(Just Do the Damn Thing)

Overcoming the Limitations of Your Own Brain

Writing the perfect first sentence is damn near impossible. I've written two novels, a handful of short stories, and too many blog posts to count. Each time I started writing, I stared at a blank page for several minutes before conceding to the fact that, no, I still hadn't figured out a way to avoid fudging my opening sentence the first time I write it.

For me, web development is the exact same way. Starting a project from scratch is by far the most intimidating part of the whole process. Even though I know I'll end up rewriting and refactoring my code, my brain tells me that I've got to figure out everything before I can even begin. Why? The hell if I know. Ironically, brains can be very stupid.

I created this blog 7 months ago. Before that, I played with the idea of creating a dev blog for at least a month. You'll notice that, 2/3 of a year after my brain gave birth to the original idea, it's just now deciding to really do something about it.

"Why are you blaming your brain? You control your brain. You can't fool me!"

First of all, I thought I was alone here, so you're sudden outburst startled the shit out of me. Secondly, I'm not trying to fool anyone. Think about it: How often do you want to do something, but not actually do it? Hmm, doesn't sound like you're in complete control, now does it?

"But who is controlling my brain if not me? If I'm not my brain, what am I? What does it mean to be me? WHAT IS LIFE?"

Woah. Woah. Take a breath. There will be plenty of time for existential question in later chapters. This chapter is simply an introduction. As you can see, I'm trying out a different format from other web dev blogs. I've got two reason for this:

1. Gimmicks motivate me
2. I haven't figured out what I'm trying to accomplish

I'm hoping that, as I refine this format, it will become more clear what exactly I want to achieve with this blog. This is definitely a rough start (meta posts are pointless when you don't have an audience), but that's the whole idea of this chapter. It's a beginning, and beginnings are rough. Every. Single. Time.

Sometimes you just have to suck it up, tell your brain to take a coffee break, and just do the damn the thing.

I'm Mike Cornish. This is devStory. Let's just do the damn thing.