This month's T-SQL Tuesday is being hosted by Andy Leonard (blog) - What is your WHY. Andy asks you to explain what is the underlying WHY behind what you do?
I LOVE what I do, but I didn't know I would until I started doing it. I actually put together a full ETL and reports/dashboards using MS Access (sorry for cursing everyone), Excel and Word before I knew it was a thing. Sometimes I wish someone would have thunked me right between the eyes and made me stop to realize working with and providing data was one of my passions earlier! Either way, I took the scenic route to end up as a DBA, and while that has helped my career in moments I wouldn't have exepcted, I am glad I am settled into something I really love.
As to WHY I do it... to me, that is the hardest question to answer. I have a pat answer that I give to people: to provide for my family. That is a very noble and lofty goal, but in my case, I would provide for them no matter what, and they would love me no matter what. So, for me, that isn't the real answer. To be honest, when I started writing this blog post I didn't have an answer at all.
I have written, erased, deleted, tweaked, and started over on this blog post more than any other I have written. I started talking about the last couple of years, and changed to a more technical point of view, and finally ended up reading between the lines. There is a common thread in my life that would count towards my "why" ~~ helping others
I have a quote at my desk that I like to read over and over:
"You are going to get what you want, but in such a way that every person whom you affected will have more than they do now."
It is something that sticks with me and makes me smile even if I am having a horrible day. It is the reason I love speaking and teaching others, and why I volunteered to be an organizer for the DBA Fundamentals Virtual Chapter last year.
This trait is a strength, and a weakness. I put others needs before my own so much that sometimes I squash me in the process. While I love that about myself, it is something that has directly caused me to lose myself too. Thankfully, I am in a really good place pesonally, and this year's goals are centered around finding myself, and learning more in my role as a DBA. I am more thankful than ever to have an accountability partner to help keep me progressing towards these goals.
Lastly, none of this would be possible without being continually intrigued and challenged in my role as a DBA, and by the wonderful support of the SQL community. I have a few key people that I can bounce ideas off of, love helping speakers reach more of an audience, love helping new speakers get some experience under their belt, and love sharing the enthusiasm I have for data. :)
Wow, therapy in a technical blog post - who'da thunk it?