Why mindfulness and coding?

I’m certainly not an expert in mindfulness, so bear with me.

A Life Long Process

I feel like mindfulness is much like coding itself - you can practice for a lifetime, but never feel like a master, just a participant in an active process.

Mindfulness is an exercise in which we train the mind, the goal of which is to do everything with full awareness.

The Misery of Bad Code

I think everything can benefit from a heightened state of awareness, of full conciousness of what we are doing, but since this is a blog primarily about coding, let’s talk about coding.

Anyone who codes knows that it requires focus and concentration. Sure, there are tasks you can kind of run on auto-pilot, but even then, these tasks can benefit from awareness. Maybe auto-pilot is not the best answer, and some thought could reveal a better way to do things?

When we think mindfull, we ask: “Does this thought make me calm and happy, or distressed and fearful?” Before we act, we ask: “Will this action cause suffering for me and for others?” Being mindful gives us an opportunity to choose: “Do I want joy and contentment or misery and worry?”

– Bhante Gunaratana

I know, maybe this sounds a bit dramatic? But honestly, I’ve written code for myself that definitely caused me misery and worry, and more than a little suffering, and I can promise you that I’ve encountered code written by others that did the same.

Just as I know that I did not intentionally write code that made me or others tear their hair out, I know that the code written by others wasn’t done to drive me insane. It’s part of the process. But through experience, and awareness, and empathy, we can recognize what we’re doing in the moment, and hopefully, do it better.

Developer Anxiety

Coding can be chill, and enjoyable! Who doesn’t love a good problem to chew on, a cool new framework to learn, a creative idea to explore?

Maybe you’re not like me, and you’re cool as cucumber all the time.

Me? I sometimes can feel like the problem is too vast and nothing is working, like I’m in a maze, and I don’t have a lamp to even see where I’m going.

Experience tells me that this is nonsense - this is part of the process of problem solving and learning, and I’ll eventually find what I need to get my way through, and it’s going to be just fine!

In the moment, it can feel like a nightmare.

Add the usual life stuff on top, and anxiety can get the best of you.

Awareness means total awareness of your thoughts, and a realization that your thoughts are not you. They’re just thoughts.

As you step back, you’ll realize things are fine, everything is going well, and you will solve the problem, as well as how to see the little bits you need to break down and tackle.

Paying attention to the way each thought arises, remains present, and passes away, we learn to stop the runaway train of one unsatisfactory thought leading to another and another and another. We gain a bit of detachment and understand that we are not our thoughts. We gain a bit of detachment and understand that we are not our thoughts In the end, we come to know “mind as it really is”

– Bhante Gunaratana

Blue Skies

Give it a shot: while you’re coding, try to breath, think about how you’re sitting, your hands on your keyboard, where your mind is at.

Take a short break and do ten minute meditation.

It might help give you the space you need to step back and solve the problem and get into that magical flow headspace.