Can a father handover pieces of wisdom to his daughters? Does it make sense?
I do truly not know. I certainly doubt that I own any wisdom. I am just a simple software engineer.
I had a fulfilled life with a lot of wonderful experiences. I have a delightful life partner and two clever and lovely daughters. I deeply love them.
Reflecting on my life, I came up with a few learnings that I would like to hand over to my daughters.
Enjoy your life and your friends.
Savor small things at the moment.
Small task with a friend or a colleague.
A beautiful sunset over the lake in Summer.
The removal of a stubborn bug in your code.
Do not worry too much about the future.
THe world is generally improving [1].
Avoid stress, narcissists.
Perhaps the most important decision is to choose an activity that you enjoy doing.
I want to stand up in the morning and look forward to the day and my activities.
I worked as a software engineer for the last forty years.
I daily enjoyed this job, and I am still passionate about it.
I have no restriction to the choice of activity. The only small restriction would be that you should make enough money to pay the bills at the end of the month. Avoid money stress.
Choose a life partner that you love and respect. The life partner shall love and respect you.
Travel to open your horizon. Learn about different cultures and people. You have at least six weeks of holiday per year in Europe. Take a sabbatical year to travel extensively.
Friends are the spice in life. They do not need to be many of them, but you need a few trustworthy friends.
You are happier with a healthy body.
You do not need to compete in a sport.
Enjoy the physical activity and the people around you.
Switzerland is a paradise for sports. You can practice any sport in the mountains, lakes, and rivers.
You are never too old to learn.
A university degree can be a goal but is not mandatory.
It is sad, but formal training is still a powerful door opener when it comes to cool and fascinating job opportunities.
Find out what you are passionate about.
Decide how extensive the formal education should be to reach your goal.
Continuous learning is an important facet to enjoying your job. Proficiency and expertise are a foundation for a fulfilling job.
Cut the contact with toxic persons.
They will not change.
They will not improve.
They will darken the atmosphere.
Better to have a few lovely and trustful friends.
Money is not important.
You need enough money to pay the bills and finance your holidays.
Beware money is freedom. If you have some, you can decide to work less, to get a new job or to reduce how much you work.
These are the learnings that I would like to hand over to my daughters. They are few and plain. And they offered me a fulfilled, beautiful, and worthy life.