Ever designed a system only to hit a wall with no clean solutions? Or spent days chasing a maddening bug, losing faith in both yourself and programming itself? In moments like these, nothing helps more than a shift in perspective. Here’s a story to illustrate why.
Once, a Greek philosopher gave his student an unusual task: for three years, the student had to pay money to anyone who insulted him. The student endured this trial, then set off for Athens. At the city gates, a sage greeted him — with an immediate insult. The student burst out laughing. Puzzled, the sage asked why. The student replied, “For three years, I had to pay for insults. Now, they’re free.” The sage could only say: “Enter the city. It is yours.”
The lesson? The deeper the perspective shift you need, the longer you must prepare for it.
