

Be the best? - bluedevmonkey

What do you think about being &quot;the best one&quot; in your field?
I noticed this: I don&#x27;t start things because I know there is someone else who comes up with a better approach (oh, does the idea exists? search on github, find a repo, stop investigating). - think what you want about this perfectionist all-or-nothing, but
please comment some cases where you did exactly the same so I can feel a bit better ;)<p>link: lifestoogood.net&#x2F;why-you-dont-have-to-be-the-best&#x2F;
======
thesash
People don't generally accomplish something immensely creative or interesting
by setting out to do so. Instead, they stumble upon that great idea after some
amount of time spent pursuing their own curiosity. The process looks something
like:

1\. Do things that interest you

2\. Follow the threads of those interesting things towards a deeper
understanding of your domain

3\. If you're so inclined, specialize further and repeat

4\. With some combination of luck, perseverance, and time, you may become the
"best" at something for a brief time, but either way you'll have learned a lot
and pursued your own curiosity.

~~~
bluedevmonkey
so it's a process built upon a calling and without any comparisons to other?
the last part is read into it, but you get the point; I think these
comparisons affect the motivation - even if you don't do it for that. - i.e.
this blogger stopped with ballet after she saw better ballet dancers in her
course. (unclutterer.com/2009/08/03/you-dont-have-to-be-the-best/)

------
meerita
I wont be the best, I just want to get better. The best is something
particular of that moment, you can't be the best because a minute after
reaching it a new thing comes out or another problem will be face the earth
and other people may figure it out better than you.

To me, it's more importante to focus on be better than you're now. You can
measure this easily by seeing real world examples of what you want to achieve,
then, force you into a method to improve your skills until you feel you're
mastering. That could be more rewarding than feeling to be "the best".

------
ibstudios
Why do some monkeys like to climb to the tallest branch to make the most
noise?

At best, you can only be the best for a short moment. What will you do with
yourself after that moment?

I agree with your post, it is not that important. It is just the need to be
the highest monkey in the tree.

~~~
mh_
I must confess to finding this answer pretty insulting (but i guess in truth,
you are calling everyone monkeys, and just distinguishing between those that
climb to the top and those that don't)

I guess the counter-thought would be that of exploration & discovery, where we
need trailblazers to set the path that others will follow later..

~~~
zombio
>I must confess to finding this answer pretty insulting

Oh come on... anyone who finds a simple human/monkey analogy insulting is way
too sensitive.

