Brain hack: Formulate your thinking in terms of positive statements.
Example:
* Negative statement: Don't use object inheritance, it leads to confusing code.
* Positive statement: Try to make your inheritance tree flatter, this helps make more straightforward code.
The negative statement is both discouraging and ambiguous. When you tell someone or yourself to not do a thing, it begs the question, "What should be done instead?" Meanwhile, the positive statement is incisive and gives the listener better direction.
If you can spot something to not do, you can probably come up with something to do as well. This shift in thinking seems small, but has had a profound impact on how I interact with the world, and improved my outlook on life, work and relationships.
Example:
* Negative statement: Don't use object inheritance, it leads to confusing code.
* Positive statement: Try to make your inheritance tree flatter, this helps make more straightforward code.
The negative statement is both discouraging and ambiguous. When you tell someone or yourself to not do a thing, it begs the question, "What should be done instead?" Meanwhile, the positive statement is incisive and gives the listener better direction.
If you can spot something to not do, you can probably come up with something to do as well. This shift in thinking seems small, but has had a profound impact on how I interact with the world, and improved my outlook on life, work and relationships.