Posts » The bit about myself
It’s only the second post on this log’s return, but I chose a truly hard topic to write about: something meaningful about myself. So let’s do it, there’s no try.
What defines me?
Couple of months ago a friend of mine asked my family and friends about my strengths. What came on top was “pursue of truth & simplicity”. In the second spot came “perseverance”, which I identify with a lot. After all any goal needs the latter badly.
Lastly I was characterized as someone who “optimizes everything around”, which you may noticed if you have ever worked with me!
What am I bad at?
The survey my friend ran didn’t focus on my weak points but I knew them already.
First of all I am a somewhat naive person, which comes from a fact I generally trust people. I think the world is simpler that way. I learned my lessons over the years and times when I’m right make me forget about ongoing mistakes.
Secondly I am really bad at good ideas, be it birthday present, next software project, or what to eat for dinner. I generally take a lot of inspiration from what others do, and repackage it in my own version. I took some advice (thanks Abheer!) to become better at coming up with ideas but I haven’t gone far yet.
What am I good at?
When I was 13 my mother took my to a psychologist to evaluate my skills. I was told I could do well in two professions, and not much changed since then.
The first one is about computers, be it programming, gaming, or tinkering with hardware. I was 10 when we got our first computer and since then I wondered how to bend it to my will. Then came high school and university days where computer skills were in great value, then first part-time & full-time job, and eventually software contracting which I do to this day. What makes me good at it is love for analyzing & solving problems and organizing things neatly. A lot of effort went to becoming fairly good at it and I’m glad my career went that way.
The other one, gardening, started materializing only last year. I got back to Poland and moved to my hometown just to find my childhood garden abandoned and wild. So I started improving it by means of lawnmowers, axes, and chainsaws. Since I rarely used these tools before I had to learn how to use them in the first place. It’s a hard work but I love it too as it’s real and anyone can contribute to it.
Now I think of these two as complementary - the former is mental while the latter is physical. After half a day of gardening I can still do some programming as that’s a different form of activity. I can also apply all my strenghts in making my software or my garden better in a long term.
What am I after?
So here I am: programmer / gardener who won’t stop optimizing the world around him.
Where’s that going take me? No one knows but I’ll work my way there.