Sometimes we lose hope. Sometimes we stop believing that something is possible, sometimes we stop believing in ourselves. The future seems bleak and unchangeable, maybe in a downward spiral. Then we need something else to drive us forward. Though we no longer believe our dream is attainable, we might still believe in the way to get there. Believing in the path can be enough to make the next step. This is where Doing The Right Thing comes in. We can chose to do something just because it’s right, even if we don’t believe it will change things. And sudden progress can then give us new hope. In this talk I will describe a distinction between making progress toward lofty goals and making progress toward easy goals, and how you need a different mental process to pull off the hard stuff.

1. T
S
@pati_gallardo

2. Sometimes hope doesn’t matter.
@pati_gallardo
Do you have a choice?

3. @pati_gallardo
Are you afraid of the government?

4. @pati_gallardo
Are you afraid of Climate Change?

5. You know how to deal with
insurmountable tasks.
@pati_gallardo
I’m just going to remind you.

6. Hope & Doing the
Right Thing
@pati_gallardo Patricia Aas
Capra Consulting
T
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7. Patricia Aas - Consultant
C++ Programmer, Application Security
Currently : T S
Previously : Vivaldi, Cisco Systems, Knowit, Opera Software
Master in Computer Science - main language Java
Pronouns: she/her T
S

8. The Valley of Despair
@pati_gallardo

9. I have a
problem
😔
I have an idea! 💡
I have no idea what
I’m doing 😞
I’m a total
failure 😭
I’ll never pull
this off 😰
Hm, maybe this
will work… 😳
Omg, it’s
working! 😁
I’m a genius! 🙌
@pati_gallardo
Valley of
Despair

10. @pati_gallardo
Everybody will know!
I’m an imposter I’m still an imposter
Valley of
Despair

11. @pati_gallardo
“Believe in Happy Endings”?

12. @pati_gallardo
Valley of
Despair
Pit of Doom

13. I’m a total
failure 😭
@pati_gallardo

14. I have a
problem
😔
I have an idea! 💡
I have no idea what
I’m doing 😞
I’m a total
failure 😭
I’ll never pull
this off 😰
@pati_gallardo
Hard Stuff
drops you into
the
Pit of Doom

15. @pati_gallardo
Step by Step plans
work for
“Easy Stuff”

16. @pati_gallardo
“Easy Stuff”
Which way will I do
this?

17. @pati_gallardo
Step by Step plans
don’t work for
“Hard Stuff”

18. @pati_gallardo
“Hard Stuff”
Will this ever work???

19. I have a
problem
😔
I have an idea! 💡
I have no idea what
I’m doing 😞
I’m a total
failure 😭
I’ll never pull
this off 😰
@pati_gallardo
Hard Stuff
drops you into
the
Pit of Doom

20. I’m a total
failure 😭
@pati_gallardo

21. @pati_gallardo
Hard Stuff is characterized by lots
of false starts and scrapped work

22. Loss of Hope
Loss of Faith
@pati_gallardo

23. I can’t do this
@pati_gallardo

24. Getting out of
The Pit of Doom
@pati_gallardo

25. Do you have a choice?
@pati_gallardo
Sometimes hope doesn’t matter
Sometimes you have to do it

26. @pati_gallardo
Are your loved ones in danger?

27. @pati_gallardo
Is your home in danger?

28. Hope is overrated
@pati_gallardo

29. Hope
MethodSelfcare
@pati_gallardo

30. Hope
Remind yourself of past successes
@pati_gallardo
You have gotten through
this feeling before

31. Selfcare
Get help
@pati_gallardo
You don’t have to be
strong all the time

32. Method
Do you need to believe?
Do you need to believe in yourself?
@pati_gallardo
When all else fails you:
do the Right Thing

33. Hope
Being fashionably cynical
doesn’t accomplish anything
@pati_gallardo
Doing nothing
accomplishes nothing

34. Selfcare
Values are not a linear space
don’t feel you have to align
@pati_gallardo
What do you believe?

35. Method
Method => The Right Thing => Principles
@pati_gallardo
What do you believe?

36. Hope
“Decisions are made by those that show up”
President Harry Truman
@pati_gallardo
Doing nothing
accomplishes nothing

37. Method
Distinguish between the world you want
and the world as it is
@pati_gallardo
Deal with reality

38. Selfcare
Find personal meaning in something else
@pati_gallardo
You are more than this

39. @pati_gallardo
Method
What are you trying to achieve?
Don’t lose sight of your
destination

40. This got a bit too
abstract for me
@pati_gallardo

41. What does this have
to do with code?
@pati_gallardo

42. I have a
problem
😔
I have an idea! 💡
I have no idea what
I’m doing 😞
I’m a total
failure 😭
I’ll never pull
this off 😰
@pati_gallardo
Hard Stuff
drops you into
the
Pit of Doom

43. @pati_gallardo
Christmas light debugging

44. @pati_gallardo
Codepath
Bugfix Bugfix Bugfix
💡
Christmas light debugging
How did this ever work???

45. @pati_gallardo
How to
get out of
The
Valley of
Despair

46. Hope
MethodSelfcare
@pati_gallardo

47. “1. TAKE ACTION.
Volunteer for a food pantry, canvass
for a political candidate, donate to a
NGO, visit a sick friend. Seriously.
Service of some kind in your
community lets you be part of
SOLUTIONS. You will see RESULTS
when otherwise you'd feel
helpless.”
@pati_gallardo
CIA Military Analyst
on Selfcare

49. The window of political
opinions that are considered
mainstream.
The window is movable.
To make cruelty acceptable
To make cruelty unacceptable
@pati_gallardo
Overton Window

50. Practical vs Idealistic
Feminism Do we need Practical
Strategies to Survive?
Or should we Change the
Culture?
Or both?
@pati_gallardo

51. Hope and step-by-step
plans can’t solve
the Hard Stuff
@pati_gallardo

52. Hope
MethodSelfcare
@pati_gallardo
Hope can give you direction

53. Hope is overrated
@pati_gallardo

54. Hope
“Decisions are made by those that show up”
President Harry Truman
@pati_gallardo
Doing nothing
accomplishes nothing

55. Selfcare
Find personal meaning in something else
@pati_gallardo
You are more than this

56. “Believe in Happy Endings”?
You can accomplish
Great Things by doing
the Right Thing
@pati_gallardo
Method

57. You don’t have to believe.
@pati_gallardo
You just have to do.

58. You know how to deal with
insurmountable tasks.
@pati_gallardo
You’ve done it before.

59. T
S
@pati_gallardo

60. “He who fights with monsters should look to it that he
himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze
long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.”
Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche
@pati_gallardo

61. - CIA Military Analyst on
Selfcare
- Overton Window
- Practical vs Idealistic
Feminism
@pati_gallardo