Programming is a creative act and requires substantial creative mental force. Anytime we are creative, we are putting ourselves out there and making ourselves v

Programming is a creative act and requires substantial creative mental force. Anytime we are creative, we are putting ourselves out there and making ourselves vulnerable. This naturally causes us to be defensive. The ego connotation misses the root of the problem. We are defensive only because of our insecurities in our identities, not the identity itself. The code we write is an expression of our identity. I find it similar to an artist that paints a portrait and immediately gets critiqued. Being able to take this criticism without feeling that it is an attack on your expression of yourself is a skill that is learned. I think it only comes from one or both of two things: 1) realizing that you are expressing yourself and that some may find it useful and others won't and be okay with that or 2) be in an environment that doesn't immediately judge your production. I find the latter scenario to be the building block for the former. In any creative venture, there needs to be an environment of acceptance of failure. If people are comfortable with failing, then they will succeed.