Failure doesn’t mean you’re bad at something. It usually just means you’re trying something completely new — something unfamiliar to your life, your knowledge, or your routine.
I still remember my first programming class in 8th grade, back in 2016. It was our first lesson in informatics, and I couldn’t even build a basic HTML page. I failed.
At that time, math was the subject I struggled with the most. The main reason? I simply didn’t understand it. Not because I wasn’t capable — but because I hadn’t learned it yet.
Not Everyone Starts Out Knowing
The rise of the internet has opened countless doors to learning. Before this, if you wanted knowledge, you had to read entire books or hunt down someone who had. That took a lot of time.
Now, we have the opposite problem: we have too many answers. We no longer waste time finding answers — we spend time figuring out which ones are actually useful.
People often ask:
- What’s the best course to learn X?
- Which book should I read for Y?
- How can I learn Z quickly?
These are common, but also vague.
Ask Better Questions
We all want to succeed. So, naturally, we try to gather as much knowledge as possible. But that leads us to broad, unfocused questions.
Sometimes the most helpful answers come when you flip the question upside down.
It’s hard to answer, “What makes a good programmer?” But it’s much easier to answer, “What makes a bad programmer?” For example:
- Overthinking which framework to choose
- Asking which language to learn, but never actually starting.
- Constantly searching for the “perfect” course — and not following through.
See? When you flip the question, you reveal your own obstacles. And once you see them, you can start avoiding them — which gets you closer to success.
Just Start — You'll Learn Along the Way
I also said this in my podcast with Vohid Karimov: “Just start, and you will learn.”
Every experiment I’ve done has come with mistakes. And that’s normal. You think about doing something → you research → you try it → you fail → you learn → you improve. That’s the cycle.
Learning requires failure. It requires asking questions. It requires redoing things again and again. Sitting still and just believing in your own opinion won’t get you far. There’s no “mysterious proverb” that holds all the answers.
Everyone filters the knowledge they find online. You have to build your own understanding. Learn the basics. Trust your judgment. And keep moving.
Final Thoughts
This post isn’t meant to say, “Don’t ask questions.” It’s to say: Ask better, more thoughtful questions.
Share your journey. Ask for feedback. That’s how you unlock new ideas. That’s how we move forward.
For example, bubble sort was slow. So people invented quick sort and merge sort — better tools for the same problem. That’s progress.
If this post helped you even a little, then I’ve done my job. Keep going. Keep asking!
