A few days ago, it was my birthday. And yes, I kick off every year with my birthday, which naturally turns it into a time of reflection—a chance to think about what happened last year and dream about what might come in the year ahead.
First things first… how it started?
Last year, 2024, was an interesting year—both professionally and personally. I began the year with some pretty ambitious long-term objectives:
- Set up a blog in AWS
- Become an AWS Community Builder
- Earn my AWS Certified Trainer credential at my current job
Big goals, right? 🤯
And then there were some more personal ones:
- Build my own gaming PC
- Finish one of my comic collections
- Start (and maybe even finish!) some RPG campaigns
It’s a lot, I know! And, spoiler alert: I didn’t accomplish everything…yet.
To help myself stay on track and kick things off the right way, I created my very own personal “Kanban” board on GitHub. It was full of tasks, objectives, and dreams, all under the bold title: “My Plan to Take Over the World!” (Yes, a little nod to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.)
So it began, a fresh year, new objectives and full of motivation and with that the start of the blog!
Things didn’t always go as planned… and that’s okay!
Failure sucks. Missing your objectives because of those failures? That sucks even more. The harsh reality is that I’m accountable for those mistakes and failures.
So, as you’ve probably guessed, I didn’t accomplish everything I set out to do. The big question is: what happened?
If I had to summarize my productivity and accomplishments toward my objectives, it would look something like this:
Aside from my amazing drawing skills for diagrams, there were definitely times when I didn’t work toward my objectives. But at the same time, there were moments when I felt awesome—moments that pushed me to do more, like speaking at public events, working on side projects, and taking on new challenges.
So, what did I actually achieve (and not achieve)?
- Set up a blog in AWS✅
If you’re reading this blog…well, safe to say I pulled this one off! - Become an AWS Community Builder ❌
This one was tricky. I didn’t achieve it—yet. The application window was at the very beginning of the year, and I didn’t have any content ready at the time. But hey, there’s always this year to try again! - Become an AWS Certified Trainer in my current job ❌
Personally, this was my biggest failure of the year. Becoming a trainer is a tough process, and while I started with a lot of motivation, work constraints (and let’s be honest, procrastination) got in the way. My preparation wasn’t enough, and I failed the exam.
Of course, there were plenty of other things I both did and didn’t do—and that’s okay! Failure can suck, but it’s also a great teacher. It’s not game over; it’s just another chance to try again.
Progress Among the Failures
Even in the midst of setbacks, I hit some major stepping stones toward my goals. For example:
- I gave my first-ever talk at an event.
- I got much closer to the AWS community.
- I explored new projects and ideas.
These milestones might not be the end goal, but they’ve definitely brought me closer to where I want to be.
Reflection and a New Yearly Habit
A few years ago, one of my favorite YouTubers started a project—let’s call it REDACTED. The premise was simple: they’d upload a video every day for an entire year. The content didn’t matter—it could be anything. But at the end of the year, they’d delete everything. The channel, the videos—gone.
And guess what? They actually did it. I was there for the livestream when it all ended. It was surreal—an entire year of content, just gone.
It was a strange feeling. After following and enjoying their content every single day, it suddenly vanished. It made me think about time, about life and its limits, and about how we choose to spend the moments we have.
For me, it’s a reminder to reflect on how I use my time. What can I achieve in a year? Two years? Or more?
So, with that in mind, I want to create a new yearly habit: using this blog to reflect on my progress and see how much I can accomplish. Who knows? Next year’s post might be a completely different story.
Here’s to the journey ahead!
Onto the Next Year – 2025
With all of this in mind, I can confidently say that I’m motivated and ready to take on the challenges of 2025. Reflecting on the past year has given me clarity, and I hope it inspires you to set up some of your own objectives too.
Whatever your goals may be—big or small—remember that progress isn’t always linear. Failure happens, but it’s all part of the journey.
Have an amazing 2025, and I’ll see you in the next post! 🎉
Thanks for sharing, I love how you assume ownership over your actions, good or bad results, it’s on you.
I’ve had the pleasure to work with you almost daily during this day (what a privilege I had), and I have to say the story could be written in a much different way, but you are humble and you put yourself always with a high bar.
You worked for multiple client projects and multitasked when needed to manage priorities and expectations so no one is disappointed. You always said yes when your clients, boss, colleagues or friends asked for something, you accept all the challenges. at some point you where working for 5 or more clients in the same week 🤯
Keep up the good work, I’m sure you will start learning to say no to some things (it’s always hard to say no) and prioritize a bit more your personal objectives while keeping clients and company happy. We need to find a good balance for everything.
Thanks for taking so much burden of me, my accomplishments in 2024 where only possible because of your team work. You are the best! I can’t wait to see what you accomplish in 2025.
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Work was a big factor on my objectives – and like you say I’m still learning when say no to prioritize my objectives. I like to think that I’m closer to that! Let’s hope this year is going to be a bit different! 😊
Let’s keep on working!
Great post. In my opinion, reviewing accomplishments and failures on a year only is an ungrateful task. I know since you started and you evolved so much it wouldn’t fit on a year. Here’s to a new cycle, with its ups and downs, but on a constant growth throughout the years.
Quoting the contemporary philosopher Mark Hoppus from blink-182, “I guess this is growing up” 🔝
Thank you!
That’s a very interesting opinion. At least I want something to look back and see how far I’ve come 😁
I love how vulnerable you showed yourself to be. Sometimes we get there, sometimes we don’t, but failing is the victory because it shows we’re trying to get somewhere in the first place. You really raise the standards for blog posts with this one. I’m currently working on my own. Great post!
Thank you for the awesome words Pedro!
Will be waiting for that blog! 😁