Getting your ass kicked

When's the last time you got your ass kicked?

I'm not talking about a fight. I'm talking about getting absolutely beaten senseless at your own game; having someone more experienced than you utterly shatter your view of a particular subject. These can be the biggest opportunities for growth.

At Bloc, we like to think of ourselves as personal trainers. It's a great analogy for what we're trying to do -- whip people into shape. Becoming a web developer in 8 weeks is REALLY hard. If you hit the snooze button 6 times every morning, it's probably not for you. We don't hold your hand; we push you into the deep end. Learning to swim is hard, no doubt. But imagine getting pushed into the deep end with 10 other people. Nobody is going to drown.

Once you show up to the gym, the personal trainer will kick your ass. And often this is exactly what you need. It's a position of extreme vulnerability, awesome potential, and it can ultimately be transformative. I've been privileged enough to witness folks go from zero coding experience to obtaining jobs as software developers within a span of two months. This is a quantum leap.

The biggest lesson so far, for me, has been that being nice is not always the right answer. People seem to have an intrinsic urge to prove themselves; our society tends to either mock this process (often sarcastically), but from what I've seen, the natural tendency can be an excellent catalyst for growth.

We all have much to learn; as the phrase goes, "The more you learn, the less you know." There's no better way to connect and learn with your fellow human beings than being pushed into the deep end of the pool together.