Obsess Over Solving Problems

I took some time away from work to reflect upon the choices, assumptions, and beliefs I had developed in the past.

One that I was recently reflecting upon was: “I am a backend developer.” I have introduced myself as a backend developer on many occassions, but I was always doing a little more than that. A suggestion on a font here, a color choice there, a UI component sometimes, and other non-backend tasks at various other times.

So, what should I make of it? I realized it’s not the technology that I want to be associated with—it’s really the problem itself that I cherish “solving with technology.”

In the past few months, I have not done as much backend work as I have frontend, cloud, blockchain, or application security. Surprisingly, I loved it just as much, if not more.

The “tech just melted away.” What I am enjoying now is picking problems and learning the technology to solve them, rather than picking up a technology and only solving the problems that relate to it.

I don’t relate to myself as just a backend developer anymore. I am a problem solver, if that makes sense. Give me any problem and watch me solve it. That’s what I have always thrived on. 😉

P.S. Problem solving isn’t limited to business. Life isn’t just business problems, and a true problem solver shouldn’t be limited to them either. Solve them no matter their nature.