The past year I've changed quite a bit about myself due to self-reflection. My SO and I were having some issues and I told her outright I wished she put as much effort and time into our relationship as she did her career.
But that got me thinking about how I'm perceived professionally versus how I'm perceived personally. How am I regarded to everyone in my life outside of work? Around the office, I've worked hard to be seen and described as a calm, level headed guy who is well rounded with both hard dev skills and soft skills. Am I that outside of work? The truth is I can be impatient, I can be fierce, and my standards can certainly feel unachievable from others. I consciously draw a hard line showing that in any workplace setting. I get it from my father and upbringing. He was a hardened road cop for work and a loving, yet strict father at home. I was living his work-life temperament in reverse. I didn't want to reverse it, just carry over the good. I'm now in my early thirties, about the time he had me.
Easier said than done, but simply put, I've stopped giving a shit about the little things that ultimately add up to so little importance in life. The ingraining of this took a while, but I'm (nearly) unphaseable now. I live life with better temperament. I'm a warmer person. It's led to less stress and and a happier personality. I've also striven to see my parents more and to be the catalyst to spending time with friends. It feels better to give out to others than take in. I still live a perpetually busy schedule, but days are relatively easy and fulfilling, rather than a grind like before.
Point is I believe this thread is targeted to the workplace, but don't ignore everything outside of it. It took me long enough to realize it's much more important.
But that got me thinking about how I'm perceived professionally versus how I'm perceived personally. How am I regarded to everyone in my life outside of work? Around the office, I've worked hard to be seen and described as a calm, level headed guy who is well rounded with both hard dev skills and soft skills. Am I that outside of work? The truth is I can be impatient, I can be fierce, and my standards can certainly feel unachievable from others. I consciously draw a hard line showing that in any workplace setting. I get it from my father and upbringing. He was a hardened road cop for work and a loving, yet strict father at home. I was living his work-life temperament in reverse. I didn't want to reverse it, just carry over the good. I'm now in my early thirties, about the time he had me.
Easier said than done, but simply put, I've stopped giving a shit about the little things that ultimately add up to so little importance in life. The ingraining of this took a while, but I'm (nearly) unphaseable now. I live life with better temperament. I'm a warmer person. It's led to less stress and and a happier personality. I've also striven to see my parents more and to be the catalyst to spending time with friends. It feels better to give out to others than take in. I still live a perpetually busy schedule, but days are relatively easy and fulfilling, rather than a grind like before.
Point is I believe this thread is targeted to the workplace, but don't ignore everything outside of it. It took me long enough to realize it's much more important.