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RomeoFantastik's blog

By RomeoFantastik, history, 4 years ago, In English

My video on the topic: Shameless Self-Promotion

Have you ever noticed how disasters have a weird way of making things better, once the initial problem is contained?

Yes, the virus is unpredictable, has deadly potential, and should be of great concern to just about every human on the planet. So, what could possibly be a positive consequence of a life-threatening disease?

1. Code (and live) for the present, not for that offer

Yes, these are not the best of times, but a time to reflect on who we are and what is most important in life. For some countries, economy is at risk. But most of Software Engineer jobs give you the opportunity to work remote/from home. Either you have or not a job at the moment, you are not so pressured by this thought anymore. Maybe you come to the conclusion programming is not what you want to do in life anymore. Maybe it's photography, cooking or pottery (Brad Pitt pff..).

Or maybe this makes you realize how much you love it. Instead of dwelling on what might happen, focus on the present, caring primarily about the here and now and enjoying the moment, irrespective of the virus or what might come next. While a future-time perspective is also helpful for human motivation and well-being, a balanced-time perspective that avoids a future fixation or dwelling on the past is positively correlated with life satisfaction, general purpose, and overall happiness.

Virtual participate in a CF round, solve a LeetCode Interview Question(or make fun of me solving them on YouTube), start learning a new language, but set the goal in mind to do it just for the fun of it. I have literally started programming just for the fun of it, so let me know how that works. Or just take a break if you feel like it. It's going to be fine.

2. Set and reach goals that are usually impeded by lack of time

We will still need to fill our leisure time in other ways. Think of all the projects you have put off, all the books that you haven't had time to read, and all the things on your "to-do-list" that get pushed aside. Now is the perfect time for personal development.

Start working on that plan to grow 500 points in CF rating, to land that FANG offer next year, to dedicate more time learning and practicing. One factor that is positively correlated with happiness is generating wisdom. When we take measurable steps toward enhancing our skills, we feel better about ourselves.

With the availability and ease of access to online courses and instruction(Udemy, Errichto or tryhard dudes like me who try to grow a YouTube Channel and plenty of idle time, you just might emerge from the coronavirus crisis both a better coder and happier!

3. If you have a strong goal in mind, be aware of competition

For those of you very competitive, you probably know that whether it is Competitive Programming, Coding Interviews for FANG, pottery(like Brad Pitt pff..) or anything else, those committed are always the winners long-run. Consider taking a break and enjoy the little things in life but never stop hustling and practicing, being concerned if "you are on the right track" regards to your goals in programming, being concerned if your actions are aligned with these goals.

Don't forget that you have probably set some goals for yourself at the beginning of this year and made a plan on how to achieve them. I surely had my honest opinion about Crushing the coding interview goals in this video. and always be in contact with external feedback. That is why I love these platforms where users have a rating. It gives a competitive edge while providing you with real time feedback of your performances and progress. It is just priceless. Once raised in competition, you are always competitive.

Didn't want to make this post sound like some self development motivational BS, you tell me how much I succeeded. This community is not just a bunch of ordinary people, but in the top percentage of people, because we work on ourselves and committed ourselves to progress. This is what unites us and defines and why we should keep it like that, but in a fun, enjoyable manner too. It's a lifestyle after all and we are a team.

Lots of love, Andy

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4 years ago, # |
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Auto comment: topic has been updated by RomeoFantastik (previous revision, new revision, compare).

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4 years ago, # |
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ogo..

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4 years ago, # |
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The only thing I hate in this virus is that it is everywhere:

  • I open youtube: I want to watch some funny video, but I see only coronavirus updates in recommendations;
  • I open telegram with public chats: in almost every chat there are news/jokes about it;
  • I open sites with aneсdotes, but half of them are about coronavirus;
  • I want to watch football, but some matches are cancelled;
  • I want to book tickets to another city, but guess what? Yes, in first line there are news about fee-free ticket cancelation due to coronavirus;
  • I open habr:

    I think that you understand without translation what are these articles about;
  • I open email from topcoder: I want to see some updates about upcoming contests, but I see this:
     ;
  • I open codeforces to see recent actions and (╯°□°)╯(┻━┻). Coronavirus.
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    4 years ago, # ^ |
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    And still some idiots consider it as a normal flu and don't give a fuck about it :(

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      4 years ago, # ^ |
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      It is, just more contagious. I know that makes quite a difference because then you risk too much people getting sick in little time, but since in most countries schools, universities, public events and similar are closed, number of infected people will probably stay low so those who get more serious symptoms will get taken care of, so end result will probably be even better than flu (with more serious economic consequences though). I'm not saying we should ignore it, but if we act responsibly it won't be too scary.

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        4 years ago, # ^ |
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        Seems like it also has higher chances of resulting in pneumonia than flu. That can also be part of the immune system's lack of ability to fight it.

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        4 years ago, # ^ |
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        In my country they closed univercities and schools, next day everyone is shoping in closed traditional markets, having ShiShah in cafes, praying together in mosques, using public buses with +50 in a bus designed for ~25 people... I just cant believe it how humans can be so dump :(

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      4 years ago, # ^ |
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      also, a flu is not even a normal disease...

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    4 years ago, # ^ |
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    There is definitely a good thing about raising awareness about the possible threat, but at the same keeping it balanced. While a lot of people want to keep the environment as safe as possible, a lot of people take advantage of this to hit the trends. Now you might say: yeah bro, but you just posted about Coronavirus on Codeforces, wtf!?

    That's right, you got a point. But I'm confident this community can find that balance: be aware of what's happening while still be chill and bring down the servers of all coding platforms by compulsive problem solving :D

    Keep coding guys!

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4 years ago, # |
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Three links to your own personal youtube channel.

It's not necessarily wrong, but as a reader makes me think this content was produced with only the goal of self-promotion in mind.

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    4 years ago, # ^ |
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    I've written in the second paragraph I'm a little too tryhard..

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    4 years ago, # ^ |
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    If you take everything at its core, anything anyone writes is for some sort of self-promotion. Nothing really wrong with that, just no reason to complain about it...

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      4 years ago, # ^ |
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      Maybe in some sense it's true that everything is self-promotion in some way. But it's not a very good way of looking at things, because some things are a lot more self-promotion than others.

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4 years ago, # |
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From my experiences the people who study competition programming just for a coding interview or putting it on a resume don't really have the drive and dedication to succeed. Cliche intrinsic/extrinsic motivation sentiment that might be grounded in truth.

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    4 years ago, # ^ |
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    That is pretty accurate in a lot of fields and in life in general. Everything is a marathon rather than a sprint. Could be getting good at competitive programming, landing a job or growing a Youtu... (okay, no more of that!) The point is that even if you achieve that short-term goal, on the long run it is going to kill you. I have a lot of friends who want to learn some coding interview questions quick and ask me for help, but I can't get them to realise how big of a mistake they make by having this mentality. Result: none of them has kept a job for more than 5 months... (that includes me too LOL)

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Auto comment: topic has been updated by RomeoFantastik (previous revision, new revision, compare).