As a technical founder, I am working to create things, and as a developer, I create things digitally (software). It adds a lot of pleasure to my heart when I see others use my creation, love it, rave about it, and enjoy using it. It is a great and satisfying feeling to have others use your product.

Even though creating a piece of software is so rewarding, something has always been missing; it is not something you can touch and hold close to you. I might be creating fantastic software that helps others become more productive, but I still feel I am not a creator; I am missing something.

Today I went to a local pottery store, where you can pick a piece of pottery and then spend 90 minutes colouring it, and that was a fantastic experience. We went there for the kids to spend time and have fun, but I probably had more fun. My daughter and I got a Gnome candle holder, and we coloured it together. We got an image from the internet and decided to color our Gnome to resemble that image. And the end result was just excellent; not the end result of coloring the Gnome (as we did not receive the final product yet), but the result of spending time to create something with our own hands.

During these 90 minutes, I had a lot of fun, as I was doing something that was not stressful, and I could relax my mind during that time. I noticed that doing something with my own hands helps me to release stress and get my mind focused on something different from my daily work. It is still creative work, but it is something different from the regular creative work of software engineering.

I need to commit to some hobby in 2023 that I can do with my hands, and the final product is a physical one.