I love looking back on my progress from the previous year and comparing it to where I am now. It really opens your eyes to how much you’ve grown. You might not realise it, but you are improving. I always have that doubt that I haven’t progressed enough.

I began last year with only basic knowledge of the back end. I could handle simple API endpoints and fumbled my way through setting up authentication, hoping that when I tried to host on a site like Render or Vercel, my app would actually run. When it didn’t, I’d spend hours trying to figure out what I was doing wrong.

Fast forward to today: I’ve built back-end systems that handle large files, streaming them to S3 buckets or feeding them into child processes for FFMPEG to encode videos into different formats. I now run Docker containers with custom networks, handle logs in a PostgreSQL database, and create automated backups of my database if it fails.

When it comes to hosting, I now maintain servers on Hetzner that I configure and update weekly. I’ve hooked up projects to subdomains using Nginx and Docker Compose, and I’ve grown far more comfortable with Linux, actually understanding what I’m doing on the server now.

I still have my ups and downs with AI and remain on the fence about how much I like it in my workflow, but I can’t deny it’s helped me become more confident tackling challenges I’d normally put off. Being able to ask those "dumb" questions that make you feel incompetent, or getting explanations for why we do things certain ways, has made understanding complex topics much easier. It can describe details in a more visual, accessible way.

So this year, challenge yourself to build that project you’ve been avoiding out of fear of failure, or finally learn that skill you’ve been putting off. Those failures are what help you grow and reach for greater heights.

Just remember: everyone has their own specialities and skill sets. Comparing your growth to others can be a hindrance, but it can also serve as motivation to improve.