Hi Friend,
Greetings from Newark.!
It was my golden birthday yesterday. Turning 28 on the 28th happens only once. And what better way to spend the day than snowboarding with friends. We went to Seven Springs resort near Pittsburg. It had snowed a few days last week and we wanted to make the most of it. Shredding on the groomed powder trails before the crowds came in was like sliding a knife through butter. This is a big resort and many of the trails were open. It was so much fun, my favourite so far.
Onto the story where I chickened out.
In the morning, I was slaying the green trails with my snowboard. But after lunch, I decided to tag along with my experienced friends to do some difficult blue trails. When we reached the trail, there were no trial signs and I remembered from the map that we took a turn that lead to a black diamond slope. These are the steepest trails and therefore the most difficult.
I still continued on the part of the trail where the slope was milder. But as I approached the drop, I caught a glimpse of the bottom of the hill. It filled me with fear. My nerves got the better of me seeing that I saw the trail end but not the steep drop itself. I sat down right on the top of the edge digging my snowboard into the ice prevent me from sliding down any further.
The steep incline before me felt like a scene straight out of a movie, where the protagonist is floating down the river in a boat and reaches the edge where the river becomes a waterfall. My stomach was in knots and I lost all confidence.
I chickened out and flipped over, went on all four with my boots still strapped to my snowboard. I took small, crawling steps towards the edge of the trail, trying to reach it so I could remove my snowboard and walk back up to safety. My friends waited patiently as I huffed and puffed all the way to the start of the trail.
When I went back up, I rode down the gentler green slope, my heart pounding in my chest trying to regain my confidence in snowboarding. I realized that not all weekends on the slopes will be about progress and accomplishment. It was a small hurdle and it is a part of the process. I may have been focused on getting to the difficult slopes and making progress, but I had come a long way from my days on the bunny hills.
But hey, crawling up a slope while snowboarding makes a funny story now.
🦾 On Becoming a Bomb Engineer.
This Week: It is okay to ask for help
At my first job, I always wanted to do everything by myself. Any problem that was assigned had to be done by yours truly. Even if it was challenging, I was going to struggle my way through it. It felt like I had to prove my worth and would rarely ask for help.
On one such problem early in my career, I was stuck on a solution. I was missing the final piece of the puzzle. Without that piece my solution was useless. I kept struggling on it for months with multiple iterations and my progress was halted. It was frustrating.
My mentor at the time was a Japanese engineer in his late 50’s. Koji-san was a very smart engineer who spoke in broken English. One day he curiously asked me about that project.
I started by proudly explaining my design to him and how I had put so much effort into it. That turned into pouring my frustration out to him about all the iterations I had done that bore no fruits.
He listened to everything patiently and asked me questions about my process. Once we were on the same page about the missing piece of the puzzle, he took a moment and suggested a solution for me to try. In the same moment, I knew that his solution was the answer I was seeking, it was the missing piece. I had racked my brains on this for months and he comes up with the solution in a minute. He had seen the problem from a different perspective. Had I tapped into his years of wisdom I would have come to the solution months ago.
Not only did I learn something about design principles that day, but I learned a life lesson that it is okay to ask for help. Asking for help can lead you to solutions that you may not have considered on your own and can also help you learn new skills. It is a sign of strength and resourcefulness, not weakness.
⛺️ Content I’m Digging
📑 Be Someone People Can Root For
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Your experiences are unique to you as only you have felt those emotions and feelings. Once you start sharing your ideas and experiences, someone might find it relatable and help them make sense of their own experiences. And don’t be afraid to share because there are way more people who want to root for you than criticize. Give people a chance to root for you and starting a newsletter is the easiest way.
Quote of the week
Charlie Mackesy on asking for help
Thank you for reading.
I really appreciate your attention.
Your Friend,
Shubham
Happy Birthday!!