A Genius I Am Not, Delusional I Am

One of the biggest requirements I thought I must have to break into tech and code was that I needed to be a genius.

The type of genius that never had to study.

The type of genius who studied Math and Statistics.

The type of genius that looks at a problem and instantly knows the solution.

You know that type of genius that is intimidating. And that scares you from trying because you know you’ll never get those heights but as I got further along in my journey, I learned genius doesn’t matter.

Sure, it helps, but it is not a prerequisite.

What helped me get to where I am was failing. And it was a lot of failing. Most people fail and they give up. Who wants to be reminded constantly that they can’t do it? That every time they try, they end up on the losing side?

But this is where the hard work comes. And I’m not talking about physically. It is easy to do, but the hard work comes mentally.

Can you open your laptop knowing you might not know the answer? Can you keep failing day in and day out? Do you have the resolve to keep going knowing you might not make it?

That is where the hard work for me came. Each day I woke up a failure because I thought I wasn’t making enough progress. I thought I was stupid because I couldn’t understand concepts others made seem effortless. It was so easy for me to fall into the habit of making excuses of why I couldn’t; why I shouldn’t.

It was too hard.

I wasn’t one of those geniuses.

I didn’t have what it takes.

But each day I pushed those excuses away and worked because I was delusional in my thinking. Even though everything around me was telling me I wasn’t going to succeed. The constant failing and struggle should have deterred me but as I said, I was delusional in my thinking.

And to achieve that dream, you have to be delusional. Other people may not believe, you may not even believe but you have to keep going. You have to keep fighting. It doesn’t matter that you aren’t a quick learner. It doesn’t matter if no one believes in you. It doesn’t matter if you are not a genius.

Keep going!