It started so subtly, I almost didn’t even notice. The other night, my wife and I were watching A Knight’s Tale, the Heath Ledger tour de force. While this movie didn’t sweep the Oscars, it is still entertaining and features a pretty darn good soundtrack – I mean, how can you not like Queen’s We Will Rock You? So we’re watching one of the scenes with a heavy Queen backdrop and next thing I know, my foot is a tappin.
My subconscious is a much better dancer than I (one shudders to think what our first dance would have been like but for my wife’s uncanny ability to keep time) but the involuntary flailing of my clodhopper got me thinking about rhythm. My own ineptitude combined with watching Ernie Els for five minutes proves how key rhythm is to golf…but its everywhere if you just look. The seasons have their own beat – days get longer and shorter, nights get cooler, mornings warmer. Think back to school, a new semester, a break, a new semester, a longer break!
What really interests me though, is how the idea of rhythm applies to developing software. Projects have a natural rhythm and when you get it right, it really is something. I remember back when – our project had achieved velocity and we fell into our rhythm. We were delivering code every two to three weeks and we where having a blast. Without a doubt, it was the most fun I’ve ever had developing software.
Compare that to the proverbial death march. Try dancing to that beat. Does it work? Did you enjoy it? On your next project, think about rhythm and think about what it feels like when everyone is keeping the same time. Its effortless. It flows. its fun.
A lot of us have a tendency to focus on the past – its easy to see where we’ve been. After all not one of us truly knows what tomorrow will bring (sometimes even this afternoon is a challenge) but looking back is a breeze. I think all of us have wanted to pull a Superman and turn back time but life just doesn’t have an undo button.
I had a 1-1 with my VP the other day and during it he said “Abandon all hope of a better past.” At first glance, this quote may sound a tad dark but truthfully I think there’s a lesson here. True, we all wish we could fix the past but in the end, that’s just wishful thinking. That doesn’t mean we should ignore history but to expend enormous amounts of energy in an effort to somehow improve it is not particularly fruitful. But just because we can’t change the past doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to learn the lessons it has to teach.
So remember, we are where we are; there’s little we can do to change how we got here. However, we do control our present and our future so if there are things in your past that you wish you could change put your effort into the things that are in your hands. Learn from the past but don’t let it consume you.
I’m not sure why I feel compelled to write this, but its my blog and I’ll do what I want to. I’ve had plenty of people wonder, out loud, why I could possibly live in this (often) frozen state. Of course I’m convinced many people think Minnesota has snow 9 months out of the year – and I tell ya, it just ain’t so!
Anyway, this past weekend was filled with reminders of why I live here. On Friday night, while my wife and I sat by the fire (yes, we roasted marshmallows and ate s’mores) one of the loons on our lake called out to its mate. For those of you that haven’t heard a loon call echo across a lake in person, I’m not nearly the writer required to express the feelings that sound evokes.
On Saturday, my wife and I went fishing (hey, we are Minnesotans after all!) and twenty five feet of our bow, one of the loons was paddling along. One hundred feet from the loon the eagle that calls our lake home was looking for a little breakfast. That evening, the loon family floated just off our dock.
I’ll admit there are days (OK weeks) in January and February where I really do question my sanity. However, weekends like the last one in July remind me why I call this wonderful state home. Besides, it really is nice to have four seasons! I mean how boring must San Diego be?
