Just wanted to thank everyone for the responses. lots of good ideas.
As a follow up a question. Many of you said you pursue your interests and passions, exploring them in personal projects. Feels weird to ask but, how do you identify/kindle these interests? I feel like early in my career they came fast and easily, but now my interests often take me away from the computer screen.
"When I turned 30-ish and had a kid and a wife and a mortgage… I lost a metric ton of interest in computers and computing."
- This is exactly what I've been feeling recently.
4 yrs at current company, flexible job with a small team. family commitments definitely affect my ability to focus beyond my day job.
If I could summarize how I feel out of my depth. When I encounter something I'm unfamiliar with I often feel like I've limited my self and played it safe. I feel I should be diving into these uncomfortable feelings and learning new things but it also seems vast and intimidating. Which often has me questioning why I want to do this work at all in the first place?
As for a new job, I applied to some new roles recently and found the interviews challenging. Which obviously is it's own thing I need to work on.
To be specific, Marie Kondo didn't advise rolling clothes but folding them in a way that they stood upright. That way you can see, at a glance, what's in your drawers. It wasn't about space saving but easy access.
Our little guy just passed his first birthday and it's been such a fun and stressful time. I think the fact that you're concerned about being a good dad means you'll do well. For me anyway, that feeling of pressure grew but so does the enjoyment and fun! Congrats and enjoy it!
I was also outside Ottawa(West) at the time. I remember hearing the trees collapsing as they failed under the weight, it was like mini explosions. We were out for about 48 hours but our neighbours' line to the road down their long driveway failed and so they were out almost 2 weeks.