What's stopping you?

An excerpt from Just Fucking Ship by Amy Hoy.

You get things done in your job... why can't you just make this happen?

The bottom line is this:

• when you're a child, your parents tell you what to do... and then they either reward you, or punish you
• you go to school... and your teachers tell you what to do, and then they either reward you or punish you
• you go to college [university] and... you pick your classes but somebody tells you exactly what to do, and then they rewards you, or punish you
• and finally, you get a job... and yet another chapter in the People Tell You What To Do And Reward You Or Punish You Saga

Put that way, it's pretty clear, isn't it:

You never had the opportunity to learn, much less practice, the skills you need

The skills required to navigate these top-down, authority driven, extrinsic reward-or-punishment systems are polar opposites from the ones you need to be able to research, decide, plan, start, work, adjust, work, review, work, finish, ship anything on your own time and under your own steam.

It’s no wonder you’re struggling.