Hi Codeforces community!

Today, I’m reflecting on my first 100 days of competitive programming. When I started, I vowed to solve problems daily, and I’m thrilled to have kept that streak alive! Here’s what I’ve learned:

• Basics to Brilliance: From C++ syntax to time complexity analysis, I’ve built a solid foundation.
• Problem-Solving Mindset: Reading questions carefully and breaking them into steps became second nature.
• Rating Progress: Reached a max rating of 960 (currently 949), but more importantly, I’ve trained my brain to think algorithmically.

The Comfort Zone Trap: The first 50 days were thrilling—solving new and interesting problems. But the next 50 felt repetitive. I prioritized maintaining my streak and rating over challenging myself. This made me realize: consistency is great, but growth demands discomfort .

What’s Next? I’m ending the streak intentionally to focus on problems above my current level. No more easy shortcuts—I want to struggle, learn, and improve.

Gratitude: A huge thank you to the Codeforces community, my teachers, seniors, and friends who guided me. Your support kept me motivated!

If you’re starting out: Embrace the grind, but don’t fear the hard problems—they’re your best teachers.

Let’s discuss: How do you balance streaks/consistency with tackling challenges?

Happy coding :)