2022 was quite a challenging year for me. With the global pandemic still dwindling and the current war conflict in the Ukraine, many things changed in my life (some for the good, some for the bad), and it was a somewhat stressful year. To end the year on a positive note, I have decided to share with you three of my habits that I have picked up in 2022. Let this article also be a summary of this year.
At the beginning of 2022, I was finally able to deal with my inner demons and, overall, became a happier person. With the shames of the past cast away and having better self-reflectance, I not only significantly improved my mental state but also turned into a more focused person. I am lucky. I am lucky that I have a lot of great people around me who have helped me on my way, starting with my amazing girlfriend who is always there for me, my co-workers who have always supported me even when the times were dire, as well as a lot of amazing folks I have met throughout the year. I can maybe give some shoutouts.
The first one being to Sharka who was the first person to motivate me to follow my true passion in cybersecurity and has brought me to Biohacking Village, where I have met a lot of amazing people (shoutout to Nina Alli, Nicole Borbely, Elaine Bochniewicz, Cat Adams, and Ekta Sirwani). (If you are reading this, Sharka, thanks for having the patience to deal with me even at the times when it was not easy to deal with me!)
The second (not in order of importance) is Randall Degges, who has shown me what the true meaning of having a mentor and buddy is. We first ran into each other in the DevSecOps Book Club, which I am now part of, and have been talking to each other ever since. His developer work and positive personality have always been an inspiration to me. (If you are reading this, Randall, thanks for everything you have done for me in 2022, and I wish our communication will continue and blossom in the upcoming year, so happy that I have met you!)
As I stated before, Randall has been a great source of inspiration for me and was also the one who brought back one of my old habits—journaling.
Journaling
Journaling has been a simple habit for me to develop. I have often found myself having an inner monologue throughout the day. Ideas, questions, and concerns regularly come up in my mind, disturbing my state of focus. Taking a couple minutes each day to write them down helped me stay focused and also helped me solve them. This way, I have often found that there is a simple answer for every question that might have seemed complicated at first.
It can also help me track memories as well as keep my goals on track. When the same worry appears in my diary entries, I know I need to make a change. Writing also brings rationality to my thoughts, helping me better reflect on things that are going on.
I have been journaling in the past using journaling apps, but this time I have decided to go “vanilla style” by using a simple Google Doc where I can just dump my thoughts and entries. I also like the idea of having a physical copy of my journal so that others can see what a funny, unique, and nerdy genius I have been over the years.
Cubing
Since my childhood, I have been amazed by the Rubic’s cube and have always wanted to learn how to solve it. One of my colleagues likes cubing a lot, and he introduced me to this phenomenon by teaching me how to solve one, and I have been hooked ever since. Cubing helps me relax as well as recognize patterns faster. It’s also a great way to stand out on public transportation, where everyone else is staring at their phones and I’m the one with the ultimate entertainment device — the Rubic’s cube!
Pocketing and reading
I consider myself a book worm. Not to the capacity of my girlfriend who loves reading more then me, but this year I was hooked on reading again. I have done that mainly by reading articles. Using Pocket as my application of choice, I am regularly saving all the interesting links that come around.
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