Why do people who study well tend to be modest?

This question can be expanded: Why are the better people more modest?

I've been programming for twenty years, and I'm definitely not excellent. But at least in terms of programming skills, it must be much higher. But frankly, I'm less confident and less confident now than I was at the beginning.

Twenty years ago, I just graduated from college. In fact, I am really proficient in two computer languages (Java, C++) and data structures. But I didn't think so at that time, but I thought I couldn't "hang up". I feel that with my own skills, the programs in the world can be "handy". What I think most about every day is that one day, I will be the next Bill Gates. I really should say "ignorance and fearlessness."

However, after working for 20 years, I have experienced more and learned more, and my programming level is getting higher and higher, but my mood is getting lower and lower, and I feel more and more "small". One of the important reasons is that "people are more popular than others."

It should be said that although I am not a genius in middle school and college, I am at least "excellent" compared with the people around me. However, after graduation, I came to the Imperial Capital and later joined my present company. Not to mention the bachelor's degree and master's degree in 985, even the doctors of Ivy League and Qingbei have seen many. So the definition of Excellence is also rising. I really don't have the courage to brag about my programming skills on many occasions.

Moreover, even if you don't compare with others, compare with yourself. With the improvement of my horizons, I found that I knew less.

For example, the initial understanding of programming is programming language+data structure. Later, the project became bigger and bigger, and it was found that pure programming was only the "last resort" of a project. There are many more important factors than this. Including product, design, architecture and management, we can't miss each item. And in the end, it is very frustrating to find that technology itself is the least prone to problems, which is related to the success or failure of a product.

An important theory is that human growth is divided into four stages:

Stage 1: I don't know, I don't know, Stage 2: I know, I don't know, Stage 3: I know, I know, Stage 4: I don't know, I know. I am forty years old and have been struggling for nearly 20 years (from work). Now I haven't reached the second stage: I know I don't know. At this stage, I already feel so small. I think if I have the chance in this life, I can enter a higher growth stage. It is estimated that at that time, I will be more awe-inspiring and feel more insignificant.

In addition to the above, there is another reason that makes me feel humble and afraid, that is, I fully realize that "all success is staged."

When I was in junior high school, I was the best student (top three) of the children of factories and mines in our school. Then I went to high school (the city's key middle school), by contrast, I was not so good. Because at this time, the best students in the city gathered together, and my grades were above average. Therefore, at least in the high school stage, in the environment of our school, I am definitely not excellent.

However, in the college entrance examination, due to mistakes, I applied for the computer major. I just caught the IT bonus when I graduated, so I lived in front of my peers for the next ten years. And those high school students, when they took the college entrance examination, applied for biology major because they believed that "2 1 century is the century of biology". Needless to say, they all cried.

Even in the IT industry, I joined a foreign company more than ten years ago. I don't know how many people envied me at that time. Now, domestic Internet companies are thriving, while foreign companies are declining. Therefore, two or three years ago, compared with Internet companies, I was envious. Envy others' high salaries, stocks and careers.

This year, I am forty years old. In the cold winter of the domestic Internet, layoffs are everywhere, and then the body is getting older and older. Both friends of Internet companies and myself feel that staying in a foreign company is the right choice. Because you don't earn the most money, but you earn "stability".

So, you see, the so-called Excellence and the so-called correctness are not static. In the face of fate, individuals are more likely to "go with the flow". So, knowing this, do you still dare to be arrogant for your current advantages and current "Excellence"? If you dare, you will be hit in the face in the future.