I’m obsessed with letting go right now. Don’t worry about me. Think of it like pruning trees in spring. You need to cut boldly to get strong new growth. That’s exactly what I’m doing. Cutting back hard for more drive.
Had several people in recent weeks trying to pull me off this new path. Why are you doing this? Why are you just walking away from all those years you invested your time and energy, repositioning yourself? Or: Just stick with it, then you’ll surely find a job that pays more.
Too late. I’ve already let go and I’m moving.
At the start of my “agile journey” it was simple. I knew nothing and could just learn freely. Zero stress. Then I started mapping what I knew versus what I didn’t. That’s when I felt deep down that I don’t know a lot, maybe never will. More stress.
As a “research monster” I dove into every topic and understand more and more. Still don’t know if it’s enough though. The interviews I’m lining up will tell me that.
Being self-taught, I’ve bought stacks of books and follow all the relevant forums online. Every day I bookmark another website or article for later learning. It all adds up and I can’t keep up anymore. I feel overwhelmed, like a lumbering sumo wrestler on ice.
So I’ve prescribed myself a “freeze.” From now until end of June, I’ll only work through what I’ve already collected. Everything else can just drift by. This feels good.
And I’ll probably get back to writing more often too. Funny how you stop doing the things that bring the most joy and satisfaction.
More of that, please. Hence: Freeze!
First published in German at reinergaertner.de, where I’ve been at it since 1997. AI did the heavy lifting on the translation. I did the heavy squinting at the result.