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All things related to Mindset

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Unveiling the Power of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) for Software Engineers

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Friday, 22 December 2023 · Estimated 3 minute read

I want to express my gratitude to Sylvester Jalnaiz for prompting me to revisit an article I wrote back in 2017 called "Discovering yourself." Sylvester introduced me to the Fingerprint for Success M…

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Unveiling the Power of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) for Software Engineers
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Attack of the bruised ego

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Monday, 30 May 2022 · Estimated 1 minute read

Take feedback as objectively as possible. Don't be married to your ideas and code. Instead explore, learn, be curious and continuously grow by learning from those around you. Maintain clear, open cha…

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Attack of the bruised ego
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An Iterative Approach to My Blog

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Friday, 27 July 2018 · Estimated 1 minute read

I was leaving the corporate world behind and needed to rebrand. I had a hard deadline. I had a new job, a new domain and new hosting, I needed a new blog. I could have rebranded my old blog but I did…

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An Iterative Approach to My Blog
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My First Week at CloudAfrica

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Friday, 6 July 2018 · Estimated 3 minute read

Stay tuned if you are interested to know what I learned, did and achieved in the past week. Maybe something I did could be of interest to you. Only time will tell. Read on. Monday I started the week …

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My First Week at CloudAfrica
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Defusing Stressful Emotions

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Monday, 3 July 2017 · Estimated 2 minute read

Mark Twain said, "I am an old man and I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." It’s unsustainable to experience many days feeling exhausted, uninspired and anxious. I bel…

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Defusing Stressful Emotions
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Rewire your brain (Part 8) - Conclusion

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Wednesday, 28 June 2017 · Estimated 2 minute read

Page 172 of the book Rewire: Changing Your Brain to Break Bad Habits, Overcome Addictions, Conquer Self-Destructive Behavior written by psychotherapist Richard O’Connor says that whatever we pay atte…

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Rewire your brain (Part 8) - Conclusion
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Rewire your brain (Part 7) - Our habits

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Tuesday, 27 June 2017 · Estimated 3 minute read

Germany Kent says that it's a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack. In the part 6, Neuroplastici…

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Rewire your brain (Part 7) - Our habits
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Rewire your brain (Part 6) - Neuroplasticity

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Monday, 26 June 2017 · Estimated 4 minute read

Lara Boyd challenges us by asking how do we learn? And why does some of us learn things more easily than others? In the part 5, The Satir Change Process Model, we looked at how the model can help tra…

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Rewire your brain (Part 6) - Neuroplasticity
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Rewire your brain (Part 5) - The Satir Change Process Model

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Sunday, 25 June 2017 · Estimated 4 minute read

Virginia Satir says that we can learn something new anytime we believe we can. Therefore we can learn to cope with what we are dealing with by readjusting the way we think. In the part 4, Survival Ru…

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Rewire your brain (Part 5) - The Satir Change Process Model
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Rewire your brain (Part 4) - Childhood survival rules

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Saturday, 24 June 2017 · Estimated 4 minute read

Virginia Satir says that you have learned what you have learned very well. It has helped you survive. In Part 3, Distress Tolerance, we learned how to "Distract. Relax. Cope." We identify negative co…

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Rewire your brain (Part 4) - Childhood survival rules
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Rewire your brain (Part 3) - Distress tolerance

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Monday, 29 May 2017 · Estimated 10 minute read

Oliver Goldsmith says that the mind is ever ingenious in making its own distress. In Part 2 we looked at how we can activate five neuro pathways in order to create new neural networks in the brain. T…

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Rewire your brain (Part 3) - Distress tolerance
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Rewire your brain (Part 2) - Activate neuro pathways

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Thursday, 25 May 2017 · Estimated 3 minute read

Dr. Hilary Stokes says that we have trillions of brain cells, resulting in thousands (if not millions) of strings of lights (chemical reactions) correlating with our habits in all areas of our life. …

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Rewire your brain (Part 2) - Activate neuro pathways
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Rewire your brain (Part 1) - Introduction

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Monday, 22 May 2017 · Estimated 2 minute read

John Medina said, "what you do and learn in life physically changes what your brain looks like - it literally rewires it." You are learning something new everyday. Whether it be a new skill, new way …

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Rewire your brain (Part 1) - Introduction
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Practice what you preach

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Friday, 19 May 2017 · Estimated 3 minute read

"Your beliefs don't make you a better person, our behavior does." I have a far way to go on my journey. My journey of self-discovery and healing. It's a life-long journey and sometimes it's a real ba…

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Practice what you preach
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Who are you and where are you going?

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Saturday, 13 May 2017 · Estimated 4 minute read

Nathaniel Hawthorne says that happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. I've been plagued for years…

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Who are you and where are you going?
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Know your limits

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Friday, 12 May 2017 · Estimated 3 minute read

"Know your limits, know when to give, know when to demand, know when to say no, know when enough is enough" Face your fears, get out of your comfort-zone, do something that you won't normally do. Yes…

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Know your limits
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Change starts with you

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Friday, 12 May 2017 · Estimated 2 minute read

Mahatma Gandhi says to start changing yourself if you want to change the life around you. "Change starts with you"... how cliché Clarice. Thanks for that one. Okay, I really feel I need to deep dive …

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Change starts with you
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Words define your reality

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Friday, 3 March 2017 · Estimated 4 minute read

"Words are free. It's how you use them, that may cost you." - KushandWizdom How often do you listen to yourself when you speak? Not just hear your own voice but actually listen to the words that you …

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Words define your reality
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Discovering yourself

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Monday, 27 February 2017 · Estimated 5 minute read

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” ― Aristotle Sometimes I struggle to consciously understand my actions. This makes it hard for me to find out why I react the way I do in certain sit…

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Discovering yourself
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The fear behind the scenes

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Saturday, 11 February 2017 · Estimated 4 minute read

"The reason why we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind the scenes with everyone else's highlight reel," Steven Furtick Think of someone successful in the industry who you admire…

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The fear behind the scenes
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Rubyfuza 2017 Conference

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Saturday, 11 February 2017 · Estimated 11 minute read

I spoke at Rubyfuza 2017 in Cape Town about how Imposter Syndrome impacts my day-to-day decisions and confidence, affects growth by limiting opportunities and makes me feel unworthy. I wanted to shar…

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Rubyfuza 2017 Conference
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The imposter within

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Sunday, 13 November 2016 · Estimated 6 minute read

“Did I do anything wrong today,” he said, “or has the world always been like this and I've been too wrapped up in myself to notice?” ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Just over a …

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The imposter within
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Deliberate downtime

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Saturday, 17 September 2016 · Estimated 5 minute read

"Do you really squeeze more productivity out of yourself by powering through your weariness?", Caroline Webb To make good decisions you need your mind to be fresh. If you keep grinding through tasks,…

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Deliberate downtime
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Sustainable living

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Friday, 2 September 2016 · Estimated 4 minute read

The aim is simple. I wish to boost my overall sense of wellbeing by living a more fulfilling life day-to-day. I decided it was time to consciously unpack why I feel overwhelmed: The city feels rushed…

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Sustainable living
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How I got my article published

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Saturday, 13 August 2016 · Estimated 4 minute read

I am proud to announce that my article got published on A List Apart giving me the chance to share my career experiences with the community. My article — "Finding Opportunities in the Mistakes We Mak…

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How I got my article published
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Coping with unknown outcomes

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Monday, 1 August 2016 · Estimated 1 minute read

"I am an old man and I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." by Mark Twain As software developers we have a lot of things that build unnecessary stress and anxiety in ea…

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Coping with unknown outcomes
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A mindful day of happiness

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Friday, 22 July 2016 · Estimated 2 minute read

Everything I did today was done with intent and slower than usual. I was mindful. Today I had complete control of my day and my emotions because I was mindful. I walked mindfully. I spoke mindfully. …

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A mindful day of happiness
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The rainbow in our storm sprint

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Tuesday, 12 July 2016 · Estimated 3 minute read

Communication is essential to minimize stress and get the support a team needs to be successful. We are seven days into our two week sprint and our burndown is flat-lining. Until today, this sprint f…

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The rainbow in our storm sprint
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The ego barrier

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Wednesday, 29 June 2016 · Estimated 4 minute read

Be the change you want to see even if it doesn't change anything right away. An ego is a person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance. It can be detrimental to a person and those around them if r…

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The ego barrier
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What it means to be an expert

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Wednesday, 22 June 2016 · Estimated 1 minute read

Accelerate your learning by sharing what you learn with others while you are learning it. Experts aren't people who know absolutely everything in their field of expertise. Take GPs for example, they …

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What it means to be an expert
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5 Soft skills every developer should know about

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Monday, 30 May 2016 · Estimated 1 minute read

"We only grow when we are doing things that makes us uncomfortable." by John Sonmez I have been following John Sonmez for a while now. He has personally guided and motivated me during the conception …

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5 Soft skills every developer should know about
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People do stupid sh*t

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Saturday, 28 May 2016 · Estimated 3 minute read

"If you don’t fail it’s because you did not risk enough, and if you didn’t risk enough it’s because you didn’t put your whole self out there." by Carlos Barrabes People do stupid things. It's guarant…

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People do stupid sh*t
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Reignite the passion

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Thursday, 26 May 2016 · Estimated 4 minute read

Do you remember how excited you were when you wrote your first program? It's easy to forget when you've been in the real-world for a long time. Sometimes we just need to reignite that passion that we…

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Reignite the passion
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Escaping the social comfort zone

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Monday, 23 May 2016 · Estimated 2 minute read

"I think that we grow when we are outside our comfort zone. If it's not breaking you down, it's not building you up." quoted by Scott Hanselman The comfort zone. What a wonderful place. It's so safe …

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Escaping the social comfort zone
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Dealing with change in teams

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Tuesday, 17 May 2016 · Estimated 3 minute read

It's sad when people leave because bonds are formed but we can't stay in the same environment and position forever. I had a bad experience. I once joined a team that had pressure from all angles. Fix…

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Dealing with change in teams
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People oriented software

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Monday, 16 May 2016 · Estimated 3 minute read

The art of making software for people with people. Today the words "people oriented software" materialized in my mind. It's not a new (I Googled it) but it is new to me. As a software developer I nat…

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People oriented software
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The “Perfect” Illusion

Clarice Bouwer
Clarice Bouwer
Sunday, 1 May 2016 · Estimated 4 minute read

Are you chasing after unicorns - perfect things that may not exist? Perfection is a subjective perspective. I dive into this "illusion" and how it has affected me. Media often creates a perception of…