It has taken me a few years to realize, but I get really attached to the code I write. I finally start to understand what people mean when they say “the code you write is not your code”.

Here are a few things I think about when I start to get frustrated/concerned when the code I have written start to change.

  • all code is meant to be changed, it is not set in stone.
  • people can iterate on it because it acts as a base for your teammates.
  • deleting code is better than adding code.
  • no code is perfect on the first iteration, and in a startup, you usually don’t have the luxury of having multiple iterations to refine it. That is fine.
  • it is not because code you wrote is being rewritten/modified that people think your implementation was bad.
  • it is just code, it is just a job.

A few things that can help:

  • if you can, and want to, work on small side projects to keep programming fun, and nobody will rewrite it. :)
  • talk with your teammates about the specific reasons something needed to be rewritten.
  • it does not matter.