I’m writing this post on January 1, 2026, looking back on the past year. 2025 has been a year with lots of ups and downs for me. I am writing down my thoughts in this post.

I started the year with another visit to Colombia, i arrived on the 28th of December and settled in the Airbnb I had already visited the year before. I spent New Year’s Eve first working with my co-workers for midnight Switzerland time (6:00 PM Colombia time). After having dinner by myself and enjoying a glass of red wine, I fell asleep at 11:00 PM, just before the Colombian New Year. I was still jet-lagged, so this was to be expected.

Relationship

I planned to stay in Colombia for three months, working remotely while enjoying much better weather than back home. There was just one thing I was going to miss a lot; I had been dating someone for almost a year. Leaving her for such a long time was a difficult decision, but I managed to convince her to visit me at the midpoint of my trip. This shortened the time we were apart to just five weeks at a time.

We spent February 14th, Valentine’s Day, together in Colombia on the beach watching the sunset. At this point, I suggested we take the next step, looking for an apartment together and making our relationship official.

After she left for the final part of my trip, we talked daily and missed each other very much.

New apartment

After returning, I began searching web portals for available apartments in Zurich. I wanted a modern flat with an extra room for my home office, located somewhere central and accessible by public transport. I soon realized very few apartments met these criteria, and for those that did, the rent was very high.

Eventually, I found one at an amazing location. It was pricier than expected, but when I visited, I fell in love. We applied and waited, only to be told that the unit we wanted (on the left side of the building) had been taken. We were bummed; I had already started envisioning our life there. However, the landlord then mentioned the right side of the building was still available. After some consideration, we took the opportunity and signed the lease.

At the end, I’m actually glad we took the right side; the layout is more natural and fitting for our lifestyle. I’m writing this on my MacBook while lying in the hammock.

Travel

The highlight of my year was when my girlfriend came to visit me in Colombia, and we spent two weeks together, eating amazing food in Medellin, going out and dancing at clubs. We flew to the small Colombian island called San Andres, spent 6 days there, and it was wonderful.

In August, my girlfriend and I went on a four-day trip to Barcelona. I met her mother and spent time with her other friends and family. We also went to a club one night, which was one of our most fun nights, full of singing Latin songs. In October, we visited Amsterdam for a short three-day getaway. Since we went during the week, it was nice to enjoy the city while it wasn’t crowded.

In December, we went to the mountains in Davos. We had a great time, we rented Snowboards and the ski slopes were almost empty, no wate time. And the weather was great.

Health

Health has always been an important aspect to me. I’ve been working out at the gym for over 12 years with a very consistent workout schedule. In late 2024, i started noticing my right hand getting weaker. I actually had a small accident while doing pull-ups, which left my right pinky finger unable to extend fully.

Since I use a computer mouse for many hours a week, I initially thought the weakness was an overuse injury, which is common in office work. While in Colombia, I went to physical therapy twice a week for almost three months. I tried every hand exercise imaginable, but there was no noticeable improvement.

Back in Switzerland, my home doctor referred me to a hand specialist, but tests showed no injury. I was then referred to a nerve clinic where, after multiple appointments, a report arrived via email that stated it was likely a disease affecting the nervous system. On August 15th, I visited a specialized clinic where that suspicion was confirmed.

I was quite shocked, and it took me a couple of weeks to process the diagnosis.

Currently, my right hand is very weak. I have mostly lost the strength to grab things. While typing on a keyboard is a bit challenging, it is still very much possible. My standard of living hasn’t decreased significantly since the rest of my body remains strong. However, the disease usually progresses to other areas, which I’m hoping to manage well over the years ahead.

I try to keep a positive mindset, which i mostly achieve.

My strength training has changed drastically. I can no longer grab heavy weights or put pressure on my hand. Following my doctor’s recommendations, I now exercise with lighter weights and avoid excessive exertion.

The most unexpected possibility is that my years of strength training may have triggered the disease. While nothing is certain, but with a genetic predisposition, some studies suggest that intense exercise can be a contributing factor.

Business

Working hard on my business helped me get my mind off other things. Since living with my girlfriend, I have adapted my working schedule to fit hers. She works early or late shifts; I used to work a lot on the weekends, but now I work whenever she is on a late shift, which sometimes also is on the weekends. I enjoy having more time off with her, as it’s a great balance for me to relax my mind.

My own business went great this year, despite many headwinds like a weaker dollar and more competition, the business grew by double-digit percentage.

AI

2025 was no doubt the year of AI for coding. While I had already used AI the previous year, the advent of new agent-based coding systems has fundamentally changed how software is built. With my 15 years of experience as a developer, I can now develop new software at a speed that was never before possible. I’m confident AI progress will continue, especially in fields where outputs can be verified, such as math and coding.

This new way of working has given me a newfound motivation to build more products for my customers, further growing my business. Any software company that fails to leverage AI to build products faster will inevitably be left behind by the competition.

I hope that AI will have a similar impact on medicine in the coming years. Although biology is many orders of magnitude more complex, the combination of the right data measurement tools and massive computing power should have a positive impact on the rate of scientific discovery.

Already this year, the company Neurallink created the first brain implants for patients who are paralyzed, more on this here: https://neuralink.com/updates/a-year-of-telepathy/

This technology is hopefully getting better and much more widespread. It offers immense hope for all humans affected by uncontrollable diseases.

Outlook

I’m looking forward to a 2026 full of great memories. I try to enjoy every moment, even the little things. I started planning and budgeting travel for the year. I’ve decided to increase my spending to enjoy life more, since i already reached some of my near-term financial goals. This year’s motto is “enjoy life”.