2017: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Before (or while) reading the below, make you sure you give this a listen:

Let’s get down to brass tacks…

I’m 34 years old, switched into my current career path three years ago, and just became a father (it’s AMAZING, by the way). Not only am I playing catch up on ten years of missed learning, skill development, and understanding of the behemoth that is the Internet (heard of it?), I’m also growing into my new roll as a loving, supportive and mentally present father.

Two months ago, I read “it’s completely possible to be stronger and in better shape in your 40s or 50s than you were in your 20s”. It stuck with me, not only for pure strength and fitness, but also as a web developer wanting to become more of a programmer/software engineer. Every year, and into my 40s, 50s, and beyond, I want to grow, I want to learn, and I want to be able to do things I couldn’t before.

This brought to mind the Daft Punk remix above as a good theme for 2017:

Get harder, better, faster, stronger…

Mostly I’m focusing these efforts on two areas: programming and fitness. Here’s the focus points:

Harder

  • Learn things I’ve been shying away from (hosting, cloud, nodejs, shell)
  • Stretch myself to learn like I haven’t before (understanding the “why” of things and not just solving the specific issue)
  • Complex movements (clean and jerk, snatch, handstands, handstand pushups) and agility

Better

  • Develop a framework for the work I do (troubleshooting, building, learning, etc.)
  • Go deeper into technologies I’m already invested in (PHP, JS, shell)
  • Refine movement like lifting and running

Faster

  • Be more efficient in my work and in my movement.
  • Focus better on what I’m doing (stop trying to multitask)
  • Consistently add sprints into my workouts (both running and lifting)

Stronger

  • Doing all the above should make me stronger in PHP, JS, and all associated skills
  • Lifting heavy should allow me to go longer on lighter weights as well.
  • My body should adapt to more stress in working harder (with development and fitness)

I still need to formulate specific, measurable goals here, but this is my mindset for 2017. I’m already a month and a half late writing this:-), so I need to remember to be graceful to myself as well. But life isn’t moving slower, and I want to continue to enjoy the time I have with my family, be around for a long time, and be valuable to the people I work with.

This demands I develop.

This requires that focus.

I need to do things that are harder, be better, get faster, and grow stronger for my family and my career.

Feeling the burn over here. Anyone else?

Peace!

###
Nate