Changing Seasons

It’s New Year’s Eve eve, and I’m prone to becoming introspective on such occasions. In years past, I’ve made a lot of plans or resolutions about what I want to accomplish in the next year. Historically, I’ve been a very driven person, up-skilling on an ongoing basis to prepare myself for whatever is coming next. So as I approach the end of the year, it’s natural for my mind to start working on ideas:

  • What skill might I develop that will help me immediately?
  • What new skill might I develop that might be useful a few years down the road?
  • Professionally speaking, where is my world headed?

However, the reality is that as I look at my schedule, I just don’t have room for anything new. I’m working in a demanding role, I’m investing a lot of time into exercise (running in particular), and my kids keep me very, very busy after work hours.

This is the reality of the season I am currently in. If I want to add anything new, something has to go: I either have to trim back on time spent exercising or start skipping a lot of my kids stuff. Neither is something I’m interested in.

There Are Only 24 Hours in a Day

Life works better when you play the hand you’re dealt. As I look at the hand I’ve been dealt, here’s what I see:

  • A challenging position at a growing company
  • A loving wife and a houseful of kids who are fully into the swing of growing up
  • A healthy body and mind that enjoy endurance activities like running, hiking, and swimming

Playing the hand I’ve been dealt means doubling-down on excelling at Kinsta, being available and present for my family, keeping my mind and body healthy by investing time in endurance activities that I enjoy. Once I do those three things, and get a few hours of sleep, I’ve used up all the time I have available in a day.

My future-oriented brain wants me to invest time learning blockchain, cybersecurity, and video production. As I try to identify the areas of expertise that I think will be most valuable in the technology space where I work in three to five years, these are the skills and areas of expertise that stand out to me. But my hand has already been played! Trying to force these items into my schedule would cause me to enter a state of imbalance and pretty soon something would have to give.

Embrace the Season

As I come to the end of 2021 I’m choosing to embrace the season I am in, and that means that skill development will take a backseat in 2022, as it has for the last couple of years. Skill development is important, and I’m sure there will come a time when I either have additional capacity or my career dictates that I learn new skills. But for 2022, I’m just going to play the hand I’m already holding.

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