Who Else Journals Daily?

Journaling is self-reflection.

Welcome to the seventh issue of Zero to Hero Highlights.

This week, I was busy refactoring a tiered enterprise Java Spring project. It consumed more time that I anticipated. Can I say I’m a JavaSpring developer now 😀 (instead of “JavaScript”—get it, get it?)—okay, lousy dad pun. But still, I had to shift my schedule to adapt to tackling with that beast, which consumed a lot of my time and energy.

The good part: I learned a heck lot of Spring Cloud and Spring Security internals, more than I’d like to know, actually. My verdict is: Although Java has moved a long way since J2EE, and with the Spring Framework**, **it’s on the right path; yet I still do think it is heavy and verbose.

The Spring Framework is still worth learning if you want to shoot flies using rocket launchers 😜—kidding, or maybe not. Anyhoo, try it yourself and tell me how your learning experience went.

What’s New on Zero to Hero 👩‍🍳

This week, I mainly did infrastructure and plumbing work, such as creating container images and ensuring that FizzBuzz Pro microservices are at least answering to health and liveness endpoints.

Creating a go Docker image.

I don’t have a definite schedule. Yet, since I work during the day, I’ll mostly be streaming at nights (pacific time)—stay tuned.
I stream every couple of days; however, it also depends on my energy levels, and the programs that I might have with family and friends.
The best way to get notified as soon as I’m online is to hop on the channel and follow me on Twitch.

Other than the live streams, there’s not much visible progress, but many cool things are brewing behind-the-scenes—stay tuned.

Random Thought of the Week

Do you keep a journal? If not, you should.

Your journal also helps to start your day with a set of probing questions. Here are the five questions I ask myself every single day and how those questions change and shape my life:

The questions I ask to myself every single day.

What is it that you really want to be and do?

This question is about your aspiration and purpose. What is it that you do, and what is it that you really want to be great at doing. The key is to be honest with yourself. The question does not read “what do people want you to become?”, it asks what is it that YOU want to be and do.

What are you doing really well that is helping you get there?

This question helps you spotlight a core strength and your ability to execute towards your goal.

What are you not doing well that is preventing you from getting there?

This, again, requires an honest and critical assessment of the things that block your way.

What will you do differently tomorrow to meet those challenges?

Don’t practice your forehand while your backhand sucks.

This question pushes you to focus on the right priorities so that you don’t get into a situation of “I am making good time, but I am lost.” It also helps move you out of your comfort zone.

How can I help myself / where do I need the most help?

The answers to the first four questions match against areas where you (as your own mentor) can have particular strengths. In contrast, the second question helps you to open up to your network to ask for help.

Keep on Journaling

I journal a lot, initially with pen and paper and later on digitally. I believe it’s a transformative experience that everyone needs to give it an honest try at least.

Your journal is a regular private, personal, honest, and truthful self-diagnosis that can take at most two minutes of your time.
If you don’t have two minutes a day to spare, well, then you do need to sort out your priorities.

Besides, journaling is not a big hurdle: You are not writing a novel or an essay—unless you want to. You can use anything to journal: Pen and paper works just fine; you can use a dedicated app, or you can fire your favorite text editor. It doesn’t matter.

Keeping a journal clears your mind off of random thoughts, helps you keep on track and achieve your goals and clarifies your intentions.

Look What I’ve Found

Here are the things that grabbed my attention this week.

I typically don’t share these anywhere else.

Exclusively hand-picked for you 👌. Enjoy.