Nice landing page. The interactive illustrated calendar is great at showcasing the appeal. Love the idea of being able to look back months at a time and see what was going on in my life. Personally I prefer hosting my own locally but I might steal the emoji idea for my Obsidian journal.
I took a sabbatical that led me to pursue a coaching certification from a university across the country in Washington D.C. It was a wonderful experience and I connected with some great people, many of whom I still keep in close touch with today. I've met great people in tech too, but it was a breath of fresh air to work with people who are energized around helping individuals improve their lives.
I'm back in tech now, working for an AI services startup, but I leveraged my experience to create a role where I can bring coaching within the organization and to our clients through change management coaching.
I was inspired by my mindfulness practice and by Chade-Meng Tan's work at Google, where he used his 20% time to create mindfulness courses within the company. Especially as technological advancement continues to accelerate, there will be a huge need for personal growth initiatives to help people lean into the kinds of skills that AI can't replace: social/emotional intelligence, empathy, creativity, for example.
What is top of mind for me currently, based on observations from my experience: Doubt can be strongly embodied. Meaning, it's not as simple as thinking your way out of it.
As much as I've achieved personally and professionally, when I put myself outside of my comfort zone and into the public arena of judging eyes, I still face doubt.
As much as I can steel myself mentally, remind myself of my accomplishments, analyze my situation, etc. there is a part of me, perhaps as a self-protection mechanism, that creates doubt. That doubt colors my entire experience, influencing my thoughts and actions. Overall it acts as a limiter. I can feel the difference in my body.
I can be aware of all of this, and counteract it to some extent, but it has its own gravity. It's all very impressive in the most literal sense of the word.
So I am learning more about how doubt shows up, and how to work with it beyond simple motivational tricks. For example: Letting go of the need to control it, getting very familiar with the nature of it, and reorienting myself even as I fail to accomplish my goals again and again.
Happy New Year HN. May you find the resilience to overcome whatever doubts are holding you back from living the life you want.