Dear Future Me,
I think it's important to capture where I am right now - and launch that reflection forward so you can read this and reminisce about the way things were. It might make you cringe (reading my old writing usually has that effect) - but I expect it might give you a smile or a chuckle as well. So whether your situation is better, worse, or the same - I hope this letter will give you something to measure by.
Today is 12/27/2025 - and here's a brief summary of what's been going on.
- Evelyn turned 2 a few weeks ago - Tiff planned an awesome party (the theme was "Two the Moon"). During the party it snowed a ton and on the way home Evie and I got stuck at the bottom of a hill and had to call Poobah to come pick us up.
- On 11/15 the PETs team that I've been working on for the past couple years hit the end of a contract cycle. The contract was extended but about half the team (Brittany, Masha, Kaushik, and Ali) rolled off the contract. Some additional teammates (Jenn, Priyanka, Vijay, Emeka, and Abdi) were not rolled off but because of some nuance in the extension have been stuck on the bench waiting for a green light. So for the past few weeks, the remaining members of the team (Ian, Jaymin, Padma, Brian, and I) have been holding down the fort and adjust to the new paradigm. There's a whole host of additional chaos in play (government shutdown, massive process overhauls, new agency admin, and more) - so to summarize, things are a bit more stressful than usual.
- I've been working on this blog and my professional development plan for about 2.5 months now. This will be the 20th post and I have developed a small (but mighty and much appreciated) following. I don't know if I can claim I've figured out exactly what I'm doing here or how it should be done - but I don't feel horribly embarrassed or ashamed of what I'm writing here either.
- I finished books 97 and 98 today - It's looking like I've got my goal of 100 in the bag. When all is said and done, I will have completed about 60% of the work in the last 12% of the year - but there hasn't been a version of me yet that doesn't put work off until the last minute. Maybe you will have finally cracked that code (I doubt it).
I think it's important to remind you what I'm trying to do here. Right now I'm still early enough in the plan that I have the luxury of letting my vision drive my execution - but the longer this goes on I expect at some point the execution may start driving the vision.
If that hasn't happened yet - awesome you can skip this bit.
If it has happened - let's take a minute to remember why we started this:
When the shit hits the fan - I am the badass you can rely on to save the day.
But I'm tired of cleaning up shit, and I don't want to spend my whole life doing it.
I started this because I want to learn to keep the fan clean - I want to stop the fire before it starts.
I don't want you to be the guy who saves the day - I want you to be the guy who designed a day that doesn't need saving.
I don't want you to be the guy who survives problems - I want you to be the guy who solves them.
I don't want you to be the treatment - I want you to be the cure.
It's not about a better job title, or a higher salary, or a stronger resume. It's about having the skills to make a positive difference in your organization.
I'm worried that you'll have gotten caught up in desirable side effects and lost sight of why we started this. I won't hold it against you if you have a new title and a higher salary - but that wasn't the point.
I'm worried that at some point you might discover that the reason you're typecast as a firefighter is because that's all you're really good at - that you'll come to accept your place and give up on the plan.
I'm worried that you'll do all the work to get all of the right answers - but never develop the skills to convince anyone else.
I'm worried that for one reason or another - you'll just outright fail.
All that said - I trust that you're still on the right path (or at least trying to be).
It's okay if you need to make changes to the plan - whether that means adding something new or removing something that's already there. I trust your judgement and I know you'll make the best choice based on the information you have.
It's okay if you haven't made much progress. It's plenty easy for me to say that I'm going to earn my PMP in Q1 2026 - it's much harder for you to have actually done it. If it takes longer than expected - big whoop. I trust that no matter how slowly - you will keep the ball rolling.
It's okay if some nights you just want to curl up under a blanket and watch Netflix for 4 hours instead of working on development. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is nothing. I trust that you'll take care of yourself.
My parting thoughts:
Don't let an increase in knowledge mean a decrease in empathy. A smart asshole is still just an asshole.
Don't let failure make you a quitter. Failing at something is way better than not doing it at all.
Don't allow 'it's too hard' to enter your vocabulary. Per Aspera.
Don't be afraid to let people see you. "You can't be an important and life-changing presence for some people without being a joke and an embarrassment to others." - Mark Manson
Talk less. Listen more.
No matter what - I'm proud of you.
*finger guns*
CHG
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