Test. Will this automagically import into facebook?

All You Have is the Person You Become

As my latest project hit the bit bucket and overnight 40 pounds of hardware and 2,415,898 lines of code became irrelevant, I’ve started thinking a bit. Something about watching 3 ½ years of work come to a fruitless end deserves a bit of introspection.

It occurred to me that after you pour yourself into something for any amount of time, your identity tends to get wrapped up in it. “I’m the guy that built that.” Anytime I introduce myself to someone new, we’ve exchanged occupations within the first minute of conversation. It’s natural. What happen though when that thing you’ve built disappears, falls down, burns down, gets shelved, or dumped into the bit bucket? All you have is the person you’ve become.

One of my favorite teachers of all time said the we ought not to store up for ourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but that we ought instead to store up treasurers in heaven when moth and rust can’t destroy and where thieves can’t break in and steal. I know that I can’t take my project or my code with me. The only thing that comes with me is the person I’ve become and the people I’ve loved. So I guess that’s what the treasure is that I ought to store up.

So who are you becoming? What mistakes are you going to avoid in the future. How will you soak up everything you can?

My wife and I’ve have developed a little routine when we hit rough spots in our jobs. We simply remind each other that “you’re coming home to me tonight.” It’s a simple admonition that what’s more important is the person you become and the people you love.