Hit 10,000 rivets set without a single double-hit last week and I'm still weirdly proud about it.

Been turning wrenches on 737s for 6 years and that tenthousandth mark just snuck up on me during a stringer repair in the hangar, has anyone else had a random milestone like that make you stop and think about how far you've come?

3 comments

3 Comments

mark_chen623d ago

Did you catch yourself slowing down or changing your grip at all after you realized it was number 10k? I always wonder if people get in their own heads once they start tracking something like that.

walker.julia3d ago

Oh man, I absolutely did that! It's like knowing you're on a milestone makes your brain second-guess every little move.

the_eric2d ago

Huh, funny you mention that. I actually read this article a while back about how professional musicians and athletes train differently once they realize they're close to a personal record. Something about the brain switching from automatic to manual mode and messing up the rhythm. That's exactly what happened to me when I got to around 8,500. I started paying way too much attention to each hit and my timing got all thrown off. Had to literally step back, take a breath, and force myself to just work like normal. The weird thing is, once I stopped thinking about it, the last 1,500 flew by without me even noticing. That article said it's called "analysis paralysis" and it's a real thing for people who do repetitive precision work.