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Solve problems

Don't obsess over tech, obsess over solving problems using tech.

Being away from work for such a long time gave me lot of time to reflect upon some choices, assumptions, and beliefs I had developed in the past.

One that I was recently reflecting upon was “i am a backend developer.” I have introduced myself as a backend developer many times, but I was always doing little more than that. A suggestion on a font here, a color choice there, a UI component sometimes, and other non-backend tasks few other times.

So, what to make of it then? I realized it’s not the technology that I want to be associated to, it’s the problem really that I cherish “solving with technology.”

In past few months, I have not done as much backend work as I have done in frontend or cloud or blockchain or in application security. Surprisingly, I loved it just as much.

The “tech just melted away.” What I am enjoying now is picking problems and learning the tech to solve them rather than picking up tech and only solving problems that relate to it.

I don’t relate to myself as just a backend developer anymore. I am a problem solver, if that makes any sense. Give me any problem and watch me solve it. That’s what I have always thrived on. 😉

P.S. problem solving isn’t limited to business problems. Life isn’t just business problems and a true problem solver shouldn’t be just a business problem solver either. Solve them no matter their nature.

© 2024 Shubham Gulati. All rights reserved.