Software goes through regular iterations and improvements - why not humans?

I hit my 45th birthday yesterday, kind of flew in to be honest. The last time I thought about my birthday in any serious was it was my 40th, in 2019, and much was different! No Covid, my festival business still existed, kids were still small, and much more…

But it struck me that every year, I learn a little more. Sometimes fragmented, sometimes not. For instance I’m learning a ton about AI right now, but an equal amount from 10 other places. I wanted to mark a moment in time and reflect on things that have recently stuck with me.

I think I'll make this a yearly thing. It will likely be a collection of musings and scattered thoughts, as well a list of things I’ve learned (or re-learned in the last year). The thing about this type of post is that it looks great in the calendar but usually gets pushed away, or even deleted. For instance, I haven’t done this the last 4 years, despite it being in the calendar. It got moved…and moved…and ultimately deleted. Hm.

So There is a TON I could write in here, but I also realise I do a pretty comprehensive end of year report that has the Jan-Dec period covered, so I don't need to repeat that here.

For now, here is my list:

1. Time flies. Thats a no-brainer but the older I get the more surprising that is.

2. Gradual improvement is almost imperceptible - especially with kids.

3. The basics (family, home, love) come into focus more as you get older.

4. Having kids is like stepping out of the normal flow of the world for a while, and when you return you realise that a lot of stuff is worth paying attention to, and never was.

5. Funerals (e.g. Diana) stop the world. Lessons are said out loud, the most eternal of which is “life is short. Appreciate ever moment” but I have a recurring thought that thats hard to put into practice.

6. I’m still not sure what to do with my life. I may never “fix” that but maybe it doesn’t need fixing and I need to rest into it.

7. No matter our situation we will spend an inordinate amount of time on recurring thoughts e.g. I need to fix that hoover, I would love to buy that watch etc. Its time we will never get back, if we just get the job done (if possible) as soon as possible.

8. No one wants to say that money is the centre of their universe, but when you are short of money, it becomes all you can think about.

9. The mindset that got you to position X, will likely hinder you from getting to position Y.

10. This is hard already and I’ve only done 10.

11. There are more books worth reading than I'll ever be able to get to, even in a niche. So read whatever grabs me.

12. And don't suffer bad books. Move on.

13. Life isn’t meant to be conquered.

14. Post 40, you start to think about the next 40 i.e. the last 40. It’s eye-opening.

15. I listen to the same handful of albums and songs over and over. But nothing beats listening to a favourite from when I was a teenager.

16. I have almost no desire to go to a live gig nowadays. But I know that I would probably enjoy it to no end.

17. Once started it gets easier to be nice to your parents for what they did for you raising you.

18. Send your parents flowers on your birthday. It was a big day for them.

19. Podcasts are mostly a distraction.

20. No one has the answer. Thats scary and liberating.

21. The people I respect the most go at something with great intensity. Not necessarily to the detriment of everything else, but they know what they like and need to do.

22. It is constantly surprising how many movies, albums, art still get made. Creativity is endless.

23. I love a creative challenge and the idea of shipping incomplete work is so powerful.

24. I envy people who write great books. I would like to write a great book.

25. Admire but don't try to copy wholesale.

26. AI is genuinely amazing - and a total mystery.

27. Having kids is the most magical thing ever.

28. Your frame on things determines so much.

29. We learn nothing. Read that book again.

30. A great lunch with a friend is one of life’s great pleasures.

31. I get less done in the day, every day, than I imagine

32. Nothing beats charting a course and getting there, however small

33. No one is watching

34. Everyone is making it up

35. Writing is hard but having written is magic

36. I overplan! I build wonderful plans.

37. 80/20 is amazing…if you can stick to it

38. Today, the 31st August feels like the start of forever. But I know for a fact that the next oen of these I write, it will feel like no time at all has passed.

39. There are years when not much happens.

40. Planning requires accountability, unless you are a machine.

41. The grass is greener where you water it.

42. Investing time in friendship is a job of it’s own

43. So much of what I do is being done through momentum or lack of willpower (or lack of a more exciting goal), which can be hard to stop.

44. We all have a very last memory that will flash through our minds - I wonder what mine will be?

45. Simplicity. Simplicity. Simplicity.

Whew! Ok done for another year :)