New Year - Not A New Me, Just a Different Version
I like to think of my life as some version of version control ,l however life is harder than just pushing a single Git command to get back to an old version of yourself or committing to a new one. I think the trouble with any push is if you have to revert back you feel like you lose something of value. Those couple lines of code that you know is great that’s swimming in the of hot mess that you have added since your last push. So push early, push often. Reverting isn’t a bad thing. It just means you are getting back to a functional version of yourself with the intent of making improvements. So as humans we have to “Always Be Pushing” a phrase I use with my coding students over and over again. That phrase may very well be my overarching theme this year.
Like many, I have decided to set a few goals for the coming year. Those goals wrap up nicely into the “Always be Pushing” mantra. This year I want to really push myself; push myself to be better, be brighter, be bolder, be smarter; more valuable to my community and to those closest to me. Now I am not making any promises to change all my behaviors over the next year, let’s be real - I’m too stubborn to change all the things I see as flaws. . Besides, no one wants a no carb, no bacon eating Jess… Also, no one should change all their quirks or there would be nothing to aim for in the following years resolution.
This year instead, I choose to really double down on my strengths and enhance areas that have presented themselves as potential strengths. For those of you who know me, I am not one to take praise particularly well - I generally brush it off and change subjects, as I am my own worst critic. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty happy where I am at in life, but I know I haven’t hit my greater goals yet. This year will hopefully be one of the most pivotal in my career. I had lots of fun last year, I traveled, I made the best friends a girl could dream of from countries all over the world, I fell in love with the idea of moving abroad and now it is time to work. I need to work to get my career to the next level so I can make myself as invaluable asset to any company of my choosing where ever I want in the world. Bold statement, I know. But now that this is out in the universe I have to follow through. This means honing my skills as a Product Manager; continuing to become a better Developer because I have learned how quickly forget when you aren’t practicing daily; stop focusing on boys - because distraction; bring back HelloDevs with a bang as it still stands as the thing I am most proud of.
The ultimate goal for all of us is to push forward while having a copy of what you have done with an intent on refactoring and enhancing future iterations. So we need to keep the parts that are good, get rid of the things that aren’t working, enhance and rebuild things to be more functional for us. To a happier New Year and one that pushes you forward.
If you would like a full blown list of all the things with more context you can see Always Be Pushing.
