Applauding your process here. I once did something similar (stopping work so as to experiment with different work possibilities), but my "process" was more haphazard. I ended up landing on one of your options ('learn to code') because it ranked so high on autonomy/intellection/income. The missing piece (purpose) got relegated to something I do with my spare time/money. Basically the 80,000 Hours method. Perfect solution? No. An accidental side benefit is that it turns out there are a lot of likeminded people in tech, ones who ended up there for those same reasons and are also avid about the purpose part. A strange place to find a pocket of hope, but there it is.
It sounds like a perfect solution is one where all those needs are filled. They don't necessarily need to get filled from the same source (a job). Kinda like relationships.
A beautiful reflection! I love the scoring and reflecting process you shared. Helps us assess our own lives, according to your own rubric. Congrats for taking on such varying roles and getting clearer with how you want to spend your time.
Seeing how you scored learning how to code made me think a lot about how I spent my twenties as a software engineer and why I've come away from that experience feeling the way I did. I love the intellectual stimulation and autonomy but the lack of purpose, or worse hollow purposes preached by Silicon Valley CEOs, is more than enough to leave one feeling empty.
Thank you for the lovely compliment. I'm sure some purposeful applications of coding exist. I never got that far. I feel more and more pulled into the physical world--dancing, being in nature, cooking. I say this as I'm typing on a keyboard at 10pm, haha.
One other conclusion--I'm glad there are a variety of people who are drawn to different things. If everyone was the same as me, no houses would ever be built, straight lines on roads (or even roads themselves) would never exist, and our society would be total anarchy!
I love the idea of scoring your experiments - it really makes me think about how deliberate we should all be with how we spend our time. . after all, it's the most valuable commodity we have.
Thank you! Yes, some level of deliberate action is good. For me it’s also important to leave space for play, rest, exploration. A reflection mechanism (for me, journaling) helps with the intention.
I’ve really enjoyed reading about your experiments in these pages. And the way you’ve weighed your different priorities in this piece is especially thought-provoking as I embark on my own sabbatical!
Thank you, Maddie! I wish you joy and discovery on your own sabbatical. I am curious what else you want to know about. I'm happy to take suggestions for future posts or set up time to talk if you have specific questions.
Thanks for your kind words, and what a generous offer! ☺️ Your bio mentions self-employment, so I’ll certainly be very curious to hear about that part of your journey.
But otherwise, I’m simply enjoying each turn of your story as it unfolds! The Meals on Wheels, Python, and sunset-chasing chapters were particularly enjoyable...as a multi-passionate person myself, it’s just plain fun to “watch” how other people explore their myriad curiosities and sources of joy.
Applauding your process here. I once did something similar (stopping work so as to experiment with different work possibilities), but my "process" was more haphazard. I ended up landing on one of your options ('learn to code') because it ranked so high on autonomy/intellection/income. The missing piece (purpose) got relegated to something I do with my spare time/money. Basically the 80,000 Hours method. Perfect solution? No. An accidental side benefit is that it turns out there are a lot of likeminded people in tech, ones who ended up there for those same reasons and are also avid about the purpose part. A strange place to find a pocket of hope, but there it is.
It sounds like a perfect solution is one where all those needs are filled. They don't necessarily need to get filled from the same source (a job). Kinda like relationships.
A beautiful reflection! I love the scoring and reflecting process you shared. Helps us assess our own lives, according to your own rubric. Congrats for taking on such varying roles and getting clearer with how you want to spend your time.
Thank you so much, Kelly! You have lived such an adventure, which makes me curious about your specific framework.
Seeing how you scored learning how to code made me think a lot about how I spent my twenties as a software engineer and why I've come away from that experience feeling the way I did. I love the intellectual stimulation and autonomy but the lack of purpose, or worse hollow purposes preached by Silicon Valley CEOs, is more than enough to leave one feeling empty.
Well done on another well written piece!
Thank you for the lovely compliment. I'm sure some purposeful applications of coding exist. I never got that far. I feel more and more pulled into the physical world--dancing, being in nature, cooking. I say this as I'm typing on a keyboard at 10pm, haha.
One other conclusion--I'm glad there are a variety of people who are drawn to different things. If everyone was the same as me, no houses would ever be built, straight lines on roads (or even roads themselves) would never exist, and our society would be total anarchy!
I love the idea of scoring your experiments - it really makes me think about how deliberate we should all be with how we spend our time. . after all, it's the most valuable commodity we have.
Thank you! Yes, some level of deliberate action is good. For me it’s also important to leave space for play, rest, exploration. A reflection mechanism (for me, journaling) helps with the intention.
Fascinating analysis and exploration in the search for meaning and happiness. I'm also in awe of the courage you exhibited in so many ways.
Thank you so much for reading my work! I know we all assign meaning in different ways and would love to hear your story too :)
I’ve really enjoyed reading about your experiments in these pages. And the way you’ve weighed your different priorities in this piece is especially thought-provoking as I embark on my own sabbatical!
Great food for thought, Claire... 🤔
Thank you, Maddie! I wish you joy and discovery on your own sabbatical. I am curious what else you want to know about. I'm happy to take suggestions for future posts or set up time to talk if you have specific questions.
Thanks for your kind words, and what a generous offer! ☺️ Your bio mentions self-employment, so I’ll certainly be very curious to hear about that part of your journey.
But otherwise, I’m simply enjoying each turn of your story as it unfolds! The Meals on Wheels, Python, and sunset-chasing chapters were particularly enjoyable...as a multi-passionate person myself, it’s just plain fun to “watch” how other people explore their myriad curiosities and sources of joy.