My 2011

To better understand what 2011 was for me one can simply look at the books I read during the year. To understand how I came to read the books I read during the year one can simply look at the books I read last year. Each year influences the next one, so looking at 2011 without a look at 2010 is an incomplete story.

Looking back at what I read in 2010 I can find that most books I read fell into two categories: minimalism and neuroscience/psychology. Last year’s quest for minimalism and knowledge about the mind led me, this year, to read books about mindfulness. Last year’s quest to find the elements which drive my mind and fuel my work led me, this year, to read books about business and entrepreneurship. So this year’s theme was mindfulness and business/entrepreneurship being fueled by minimalism and neuroscience/psychology.

These are the topics I read; which can also be seen as the topics I had in mind; which can also be seen as the topics which sparkled the ideas I had; which can also be seen as the topics which influenced the decisions I made; which can also be seen as the topics which drove me to the actions I carried out.

Before I continue first I must add a disclaimer: I just said that the books I read influenced my decisions and drove my actions; that is true. But one could say that I was already pre-disposed to make those decisions and carry out those actions, given that the reason I read those books was mainly to enrich views I already had with eloquence and wisdom imparted by people with more knowledge and experience than I. In other words, I started meditating because I was seeking mindfulness, I started working on my own app because I was seeking a creative outlet and I quit my job and left Germany because I was seeking change.

Last spring I made a trip to Amsterdam. I can tell you how much I loved the city just by telling you that that trip planted a seed in my mind (or at least watered it). This spring I made a trip to Chicago. Once again, I can tell you how much I loved the city just by telling you that that trip watered a seed in my mind. That seed grew quite large after those two waterings but it just needed a little bit of sunlight to drive me to say “I quit” and click “buy” on a ticket back to Mexico.

I gradually opened the shades to let that sunlight in when I decided to create an app. I started working on it so I could learn Objective-C, so I could have an app which would archive all my Tumblr posts, and so I could gain the experience of creating an app by myself from having the idea to supporting users downloading it from the Mac App Store. Working on the app during evenings and weekends let enough sunlight in to let me see that I was feeling stuck at work and that I wasn’t having fun anymore nor learning.

Visiting Amsterdam and Chicago made me realize that I wasn’t enjoying the place I was living in and that a geographical change was in order. Working on my own app made me see that I wasn’t enjoying my job and that an occupational change was in order.

One word can summarize why I didn’t look for a job right away and why I came back to Mexico: time. I wanted time to work on my app. I wanted time away from a day job. I wanted time to see my family and friends. And I wanted time for myself.

I have no idea what next year will bring. I only know that I will continue following the topics of minimalism, mindfulness, neuroscience/psychology and business/entrepreneurship; and see where they take me. Other than that… only time will tell.