The Joy of Programming

Bob Ross nailed the name of his show — The Joy of Painting. It wasn't about the end result, it was about the joy of the process. Of uncovering what was hiding on the canvas, waiting to be revealed. Sure, his paintings sell for thousands of dollars now, but on air he only seemed concerned with one thing — helping have a good time doing something they love.

It's not about having the painting at the end — I mean, how many paintings can you have? It's not about how pretty it looks — he easily could pay someone else for their painting, or commission a painting. It's about taking joy in a moment of creation, discovering the serendipitous mistakes along the way, bringing something wonderful into the world.

That's how I feel about programming right now. Certainly, I could order a swarm of agents to build a website or an app, and they'd probably do a good enough job. And yes, while they might make some mistakes they would probably make fewer than I would.

But they're my mistakes, my happy little accidents. It's my chance to put my mark on the world.

Doing it myself is slower, more expensive, more frustrating, more error-prone. It's also more creative, more unique, more joyful!

And yes, at the end I get a fancy website. But I get a lot more in the meantime.