One of the things that had made me advance when learning WordPress development so fast, is that I have been able to take the feedback and the lessons other have made to me.
I bumped into a friend on the bus the other day, and it’s funny how both of us identified a tendency a lot of people have to hide from being critiqued. He was telling me how his colleges often times will try to hide their code to prevent getting feedback. I think this tendency about hiding and not presenting yourself as who you truly are hinders your potential and your performance, and it is very common amongst people.
In the past months, I’ve been submitting a lot of PR’s to different GitHub projects, and I’ve been learning a lot from doing that! Solving a problem feels really cool and you learn a lot by diving into new problems and figuring out! But the greatest benefit so far is getting your code reviewed by other people.
Because it’s not only about writing a solution for a problem, it’s about writing the best solution that you can. And how can you have greater chances of getting it right? … well, by getting your ideas challenged and polished through the back and forth between you and your more experienced reviewer.
I’ve found code reviewing the greatest and easiest way to lvl up fast when learning how to code. It’s so powerful if you just can leave out the ego and recognize your faults.
For some, getting their ideas challenged and recognizing they might not be the most optimal equals losing a battle. For me, it is the opportunity to acquire knowledge fast, from the best, and ready to be reformulated into new cool ideas.
As Newton said: I stand in the shoulders of giants.