Lessons Learned from 2022

I think it’s good to not only plan ahead for 2023, but also to look back and analyze how the previous year went. In Scouting, we do a thing called “Roses and Thorns” where after an event, we go around the circle and share what went well and what didn’t.

The good (roses):

  • I finally got around to taking the CISSP exam. I passed it in my first attempt.
  • I put myself out there both socially and professionally. I’m kind of introverted, and I challenged myself to put myself in uncomfortable situations (that’s talking to people). I’ve put an effort into LinkedIn reaching out to others.
  • Building self confidence. I’ve been working on silencing that person in the back of my head. I speak up more in meetings when I have something to say. I advocate for myself and my interests.
  • This summer was incredibly awesome. I spent a week fishing with my family. We spent a ton of time hanging out at the waterpark. It went by really fast.

The bad (thorns):

  • After taking the CISSP, I didn’t have a clear plan on where to go afterward. I spent a bit of time preparing for CISM. ISC2 then came with a promotion I thought I would pursue CCSP. A bunch of things came up that made preparing for a certification not realistic. Some better planning would have saved me time and effort.
  • My personal time is stretched incredibly thin. I feel like I have something going on every night of the week. When there’s a free night, I feel the need to decompress. Much of that is focusing on my children, which they deserve my time and attention, but it makes it difficult to pursue interests of my own like Jiu Jitsu.
  • Organization. Man, if I would just take a few minutes every week to just plan and organize. I’m a man who likes structure. This past year, I feel like I was flying by the seat of my pants too much.
  • Health. I got put on cholesterol meds. I thought I could change course and change my diet, but that wasn’t the case and now I got a pill I have to take every day. A healthy weight cut, along with diet and exercise, would do me wonders. Again, it’s a planning, time, and organization issue. If I meal prep and plan, I would do much better.

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