One Big Thing
It was two days before the end of 2021, and G and I were out for a walk along the main river of Sarajevo. While G was talking to himself, practicing his Bosnian, I phoned Laura.
Laura and I chatted about what ’21 had taught us and discussed our plans for ’22. After we hung up, I was excited (and scared) about the latter.
It turned out that what we both wanted most for the year to come was to focus on a singular pursuit.
One big thing.
It was an idea that I had already considered two or three years in a row when I’d wrap up my end-of-year review and learn how many different interests I had followed in just 12 months.
One big thing, I imagined, would make life less busy, my day-to-day simplified, and the one craft I’d choose would flourish.
Nonetheless, I was also scared about the unknowns this change might bring. Who would I be without many pursuits, and was there any I wanted to bet so fully on? I wasn’t sure, and so I kept going as before.
Until this year, that is, when I realized that not taking this step had become the one thing I feared doing most, and thus, I’d have to do it.
And so it came that I swapped the pursuit of many trades for one–and fully committed to code.
Coding is my one big thing for 2022.
Whenever I think, what should I do with my time now? The answer is code (or be bored).
Of course, I’m not locking myself up in a garage with my computer. And the small daily things that keep me sane are here to stay: meditation, exercise, reading, and some writing. But I won’t be becoming a zen master or chasing a book deal, and all other curiosities are off the table too.
I’m one month in, and the one thing I’ve learned so far with certainty is that I had nothing to fear in the first place.
Hi, All! How are you doing? ☃️ I hope your ’22 is off to a glorious start. ❤️
Words
⭐️ It’s here! My wrap-up of 2021 in books, buys, most fond experiences, and some: Favorite Things 2021. Want a sneak peek? Here’s one of the six reads that left a mark:
Designing Your Life – Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
I followed Burnett’s and Evan’s advice on designing one’s dream job and invited developers and designers with intriguing careers for a virtual coffee. The experiment resulted in a new job and one of the most interesting people I met in ’21 after only six coffees.
Quote I’m Pondering
The word priority came into the English language in the 1400s. It was singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for the next five hundred years. Only in the 1900s did we pluralize the term and start talking about priorities. Illogically, we reasoned that by changing the word we could bend reality. Somehow we would now be able to have multiple “first” things. –Greg Mckeown, Essentialism
With love,
Rethinking life at -10°C,
Mirha
👩🏻💻