Last summer I suddenly and unexpectedly lost my job. It was a shock on multiple levels, including to my sense of self. I found I no longer knew how to describe who I was or how to tell my story. Since then, I've spent a lot of time thinking about it, working to build a story of myself that I feel good about and that I believe.
https://www.daviddaly.me/2025/11/how-we-choose-to-tell-our-stories.html
The second post dives into the first topic: The Scariness of Getting What You Want
https://www.daviddaly.me/2025/09/the-scariness-of-getting-what-you-want.html
My professional life changed suddenly last year. I have always tried to deliberately craft my career, so this sudden change was jarring to me. I've spent a lot of time since then reflecting on that change, covering topics of success, failure, taking time off, and my sense of identity.
Today I introduce the first two posts of a series focused on this change. The first post, Making Sense of Disruption, provides an overview covering the full scope of this series.
https://www.daviddaly.me/2025/09/making-sense-of-disruption.html
I don’t have a good memory for names, facesr, and details. I’ve built up a system of note taking and #memorization to work around my limits, and now I’ve written about it. https://www.daviddaly.me/2023/12/the-nerdiest-thing-i-do.html
This was a challenging piece to write, as it really is the nerdiest thing I do. And we don’t normally talk about the nerdy things we do. Maybe we should do that more.
I love this quote: "“Do it every day for a while,” my father kept saying. “Do it as you would do scales on the piano. Do it by prearrangement with yourself. Do it as a debt of honor. And make a commitment to finishing things.”" (Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird)
It resonates with so much I've read. Her father was talking about writing, but the idea also pops up in books about habit change and expert performance. Which is appropriate since Anne was building a writing habit, to become an expert writer.
