Today I noticed something very interesting. A decade ago, when I was a budding programmer, and even for many years after, I would reach for anything and everything within my radar that I thought had the potential to benefit me as a programmer. Let me break this thought apart. I remember, fondly, how I would try every tool, read (or attempt to read) every blog that came my way (I am a newsletter hoarder), try to understand every piece of program I found interesting, and, of course, RICE my Linux. "But of course!" one might think. "It's only natural—you were young and had a lot of time." However, that isn't what strikes me today. What I began to wonder—and tried to analyze—was the evolution of my thought processes regarding how I approach learning now compared to back then.
When I had the epiphany that my life’s task is to become a cybersecurity professional, I promised myself one thing: "I would take every piece of advice I got, resonated with, and even preached over the years, and mold the most efficient career transition I could imagine." Ambitious? Absolutely. But I’ve never known myself to be anything but ambitious. While this trait hasn’t always helped me, I’m doing quite alright, thank you. A handful of foundational principles now form the foothold for my growth:
- Good mental and physical health.
- Not fighting the finitude of life.
- Embracing the way I learn.
- Always approaching relationships with a mindset to give rather than take.
Good Mental and Physical Health
I am no expert in this matter, but I am trying—which is more than I could say about myself a year ago. About a year and a half ago, it was brought to my attention that I may be "niet normaal" (read: neurodiverse). This realization was a monumental breakthrough for me. In Bangladesh, the quality of one’s mind is rarely contemplated. Imagine not knowing if there will be enough food on the table and then wondering whether what you just said was offensive. It didn’t matter there. But here in Europe, with its robust healthcare system and social stability, I’ve had the chance to put things into perspective.
Perhaps I’ll write about this journey in more detail in the future. For now, what’s important to share is that I am making sure I put myself first holistically. I have found many answers and much peace in spirituality, for which I am thankful to Sam Harris. The Waking Up app and his book of the same name have helped me immensely. I meditate daily, practicing non-duality and loving-kindness. I also go to the gym regularly and have started calorie counting with the Noom app. Additionally, I travel often and spend time with friends while distancing myself from people who are not good for me.
All of this might sound obvious, but I’ve always been a workaholic who never had “time” for these things.
On top of some high place in Freiburg. I absolutely love heights!
Not Fighting the Finitude of Life
Life must end. Fully embracing this fact allows us to celebrate every breath. What I’ve found curious is that this is the productivity hack to beat all productivity hacks. I learned this from Oliver Burkeman's teachings. We all have large reading lists and millions of open tabs we feel compelled to get through but never do. It’s important to realize this is an impossible ordeal.
I now fully embrace the notion of treating information as a flowing river. We sometimes dip our toes into it but can never grasp it all. This simple truth has profoundly shifted my perspective. I’ve abandoned my long Notion reading list, I close stale tabs often, and I no longer stress over gaps in my knowledge. Most importantly, I balance learning, doing, and enjoying life.
Embracing the Way I Learn
It’s fortunate that I am a decade into my career. How I’ve made it this far without getting fired even once remains a mystery to me. I’m not one to believe I have special abilities. Ask any of my school teachers, and they’ll tell you what a terrible student I was. At some point in my adolescence, I figured things out. Passion drives me, and my passion lies in puzzles. I love solving things and will go to any lengths to acquire the tools necessary.
Solving Sudoku and the Rubik's Cube eventually led me to coding. Over time, I painfully learned through trial and error what works for me. I like building things, and that’s how I learn best. This realization is the centerpiece of this whole write-up. I’ve developed an aptitude for finding information, so I can easily identify hundreds of things I need to learn to succeed in cybersecurity. However, that approach would lead to burnout. Instead, I embrace a T-shaped learning philosophy: I learn surface-level information about anything that piques my interest but dive deep only when there’s a clear need for me to use it.
This happens in many ways and doesn’t necessarily tie to work. I deepen my knowledge by writing about topics, mentoring students, contributing to open-source projects, and volunteering at non-profits. I broaden my scope by attending conferences and meetups. I’ve found a system to make learning engaging and fun for me. However, the drawback is that I drop anything that doesn’t interest me. This sometimes hinders me, especially at work. I’m working on addressing this but it is not something that I can always control. My strategy is to develop sound work ethics and dissociate from unproductive situations, even at some monetary or temporal cost. That’s how it works, and I cope as best as I can.
Giving Mentality
I’ve already delved into this topic in a previous blog post. Giving back is something I feel compelled to do. Additionally, I find that it’s a sound approach to growing one’s network. When I approach people, I think only about how I can be helpful rather than what I can gain. Sometimes, this bears fruit, but most of the time, it’s simply about leaving me with a warm and fuzzy feeling that I deeply cherish.
Conclusion
To sum up, I am trying to take an efficient approach to career change. I focus on taking care of myself and others, not overdoing it, and reaching slightly beyond my comfort zone. Hopefully, it will all work out. Please let me know if you think I’m on the right path.
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