Its a cycle – 12 months – 365 days! But for some reason 2021 looked like it was just swiped left as if it was a story / status on Instagram/ WhatsApp. With slightly lesser hiccups on the mobility and socialization aspect, we could achieve much more than what we imagined during the end of 2020 though.
One of the many good things that happened to me personally in 2021 was – I could include Podcasts in my daily routine. GCP, History of Ancient World, Azure and many other episodes made my morning walk / run, really interesting. Even though all these podcasts were great and helped me understand many new things, the one that stuck with me was on Imposter Syndrome. (You can access the podcast here.) Carter Morgan and Sydney Wong started the episode with what Imposter Syndrome means; how to deal with it and navigated through multiple examples from their own lives. This syndrome is very common with knowledge workers in the world of technology. With daily changes in the technology landscape and keeping up with that, it is very common to feel that we know very little. We get into self doubting mode and think that we are committing a fraud. It was definitely something relatable for me after being in the industry for almost 19 years. Few things that one should remember are –
- give yourself time to settle into new roles / job / environments
- avoid comparison
- identify a right mentor/s in the industry
- realize the value that you bring in (and yes, every individual does bring something unique to the table)
- manage work relationships better by knowing the expectations in advance
- get yourself out of the negative environment immediately
- be a good listener
Looking forward to read / know more about this and many more interesting stuff happening in the tech industry.
In 2021, I was able to do justice to acquire few skills like introduction to data engineering, BigQuery using GCP. Business development activities and overall business in APAC was quite remarkable too. On personal front, I was able to keep up with my interests like trekking, travelling, photography and drone videos. (My drone was damaged in a crash though). All in all, 2021 was a very balanced and fulfilling year. Even then, there are always few things which you wish could have been done differently. There is always a scope of improvement.
I am very hopeful about 2022 – many new things are ahead of us which will bring countless opportunities on the platter. Its up to us if we are able to identify those and ride on the wave at the right time.
Wishing everyone a very happy new year – 2022!
Dipti Joshi 