Unemployed Months

Date: 2022-01-25

I was unemployed for several months in 2021. I was unemployed but I wasn't unproductive.

I kind of got disillusioned with the world looking at how the collective humanity was responding to Covid. I also got a strong feeling that the world is going to change for good. And I was very anxious about my job security. I knew I have to level up and reinvent myself if I have to find any kind of success in the new world. I took a bold step and quit my job and decided to work on myself.

One thing people kept saying is that a gap in the CV will not look good. I have to explain why I was out of action. I say that statement is dogma and this post is my explaining everything I did in my unemployed days.

Dogma

Dogmas are rules that are taken for granted but aren't derived from solid principles. They work under assumptions and when the assumptions are not valid anymore they don't work. That one should be employed without break is a dogma. That certificates are all that matters is a dogma. I am unconventional and I don't like these dogmas.

Another popular dogma is that only experts are allowed to have opinions on certain subjects and you should stick to the subjects of your profession. If only experts are entitled to a professional opinion, then how does democracy or free market work. They are based on the idea that the voter knows best and the consumer knows best. I say that as long as I am following logic and facts, I can learn anything and comment on anything.

So I took the bulk of my time away from tech and looked at various other subjects like economics, geopolitics, philosophy and psychology. But I did some computer science work on the side so that I don't lose touch.

I had saved most of what I had earned in the last two years. I am financially secure. So from a common-sense angle also it was a reasonable decision to take time off work.

Can't escape the economy

I don't get to live the way I want and do that job I want because of the economy. I have been very angry at how modern capitalism worked. I know Capitalism did play its role in a lot of progressive outcomes but I have been bothered by all these bubbles I keep seeing everywhere. And modern Capitalism, in my view, just keeps solving easy problems, with litle foresight in my opinion. The most pressing issues of today are climate change, mental health and inequality there is very little done by Capitalism on these.

I learned about the very fundamentals in economics like opportunity cost, demand and supply, comparative advantage, value, etc. I found myself applying a lot of these things in my day-to-day decision making as well.

I learned about the countries' economics. I started seeing the forest instead of the trees. It was illuminating and I believe that they will help me for many many years into the future.

Understanding the world order

The last time the world order changed for good was at the end of World War II. I believe that we are at such a watershed moment now at the end of Covid 19. I read a few really good books. I was reading the news a lot - reading the news, reading the analysis and analysing the things on my own, to for the kind of framework to explain how the world worked.

Searching for meaning in philosophy

Like I said before, I was disillusioned with the world and needed some answers to big questions. I looked at a lot of philosophical concepts and the works of many people but maybe on a shallow level. I had already been looking at those ideas for several years.

Stoicism was a good guiding philosophy. It helped me live through all the hard things that were thrown at me, every day. I also liked what Fredrich Nietzsche had to say. I read and watched a lot and I thought a lot. Thinking is the hallmark of philosophy.

Psychology and neuroscience

I needed psychology to understand people. The pandemic showed just how important it is. Although we had a lot of scientific information, making people behave rationally is near impossible. (I, myself, am a bit guilty of that).

Freud, I learned a long time ago. Then I did learn about Carl Jung. I hung out in a few subreddits. I read a lot of articles and books. I realized how much social media and marketing makes use of psychology and how these ideas are used to shape the human collective. I found new tricks to be more productive. I learned a lot about human nature. I trained myself to be more empathetic to people, improved my emotional intelligence.

I wanted to find my voice and get it across to other people

I have been highly introverted and reclusive most of my life. I am only now learning to convert my thoughts to words when it became clear how many doors communication skills can open.

I journaled extensively. For hundreds of hours. I was writing down everything that went into my head. The process was very therapeutic. I enjoyed the process. And I learned in the process.

I was experimenting with social media. I was getting a lot of engagement and validation, although from a small group of people, I know they liked the things I post because of their inherent value. I was really into a variety and I found people liking and appreciating me for what I have been sharing. It helped me beat a lot of my discomfort in sharing my ideas.

Unlocking new parts of the brain

Foreign languages can do a lot of good to the brain. Just like how one exercises the body, one's brain needs to be exercised too. Thanks to Duolingo, I learned a lot of French, which is good for my personality and my brain.

I spend a lot of time in brain training apps, beating record after record, unlocking achievements after achievements.

Neuroplasticity is something that is not well known but super important. I know I am planting seeds that will bear fruit down the road.

Not forgetting Computer Science

I needed to have some work to show that I still am in the coding game. I made a lot of small but complete side projects, some using new tech stacks I haven't used before. I made a Minesweeper game clone in Elm. I made a small Visual Studio Code extension. I build a React Native app that I now use daily for my productivity.

I am a programmer mostly. I wanted to see if it would be possible for me to pivot to Data Science at some point. I took a couple of courses in Udacity that were in discount and completed one in a very quick time.

Long Term Benefits

The relatively good success that I have today is the result of the work I did many many years ago. The payoff for a lot of good work comes many years down the line. The things I am doing now, I believe are, going to reward me in pleasantly surprising ways as I rise.