Register Callbacks, Not Regrets: A Developer’s Guide to Emotions

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Our mind is like a chain, and just like a fragile link in a necklace, the weakest point can determine whether we'll sparkle or snap in tough times.

That's why it's so important to level up our mental thresholds. This means training ourselves to evolve from mere reactors to seasoned responders.

Just like how platform drivers use the dev_pm_ops structure for power management in Linux, we can register callbacks for life's power-draining situations.

Here’s how:

Just include the header include/life/em.h, leverage the structure;

struct mind_em_ops {
 int (*anger)(struct mind *emotion);
 void (*rejection)(struct mind *emotion);
 int (*expectation)(struct mind *emotion);
 . . .
}

I mean,

Analyze the situations where you are reactive.

List out the trigger points.

Register callbacks to handle your emotions that execute your predefined actions.

Register an anger callback to convert that blast of energy into positive and productive outlets.

Register an expectation callback to help you deal with disappointment and setbacks.

Register a rejection callback to analyze the root cause for your rejection.

If I'm feeling overwhelmed with anger, my default action is to pause and escape the situation. And to burn all those anger, I prefer a thread mill session in the evening. For me, a level 9 chase for 13 minutes would do the job - most of the time.

This is how I avoid post-anger regrets and channel those extra byte stream of energy to be a 1% better me.

You know what? Life is the grandest open-source project ever, and guess what? You're the almighty maintainer of your very own fork. If you stumble upon something you're not vibing with, consider adopting a nice pull request from people like me.

But be warned, the code review should be brutal.

Life's too short for suboptimal code.

Originally shared on LinkedIn