Derek Sivers is a multi-millionaire, former tech entrepreneur turned nomadic hermit. He has some unconventional views. One of them has stuck with me:
"Choose beliefs that are useful to you; it doesn’t matter if they’re true."
I’ve recently adopted a useful belief that has changed my perspective as a software engineer.
"The last developer did the best they could with the resources & knowledge they had."
It may not be true. Maybe that last person did a rush job or didn’t care. But it doesn’t matter. The belief is still useful.
There’s nothing constructive about saying, “What was the idiot who wrote this code thinking???”
Assume that developer did the best they could with the time, budget, knowledge, and requirements they had at the time. I guarantee you’ll be happier & more constructive.