Challenge Yourself
I think many of us in STEM are used to being good at things. You probably excelled at school, moved onto graduate education and once you had that degree moved on to the next hoop. The problem begins if we begin to worry about failure, something you might not have much experience with and therefore you may begin to become more conservative with your endeavors. I want you to open yourself up to new ideas and opportunities which will provide much needed growth. As someone with an interest in STEM you are most likely a life long learner, but you may be a little out of practice depending on how long your last graduation was.
If it has been a while or you want to start off small set yourself a more manageable yet still challenging task. My equivalent of this was to participate in my yoga studios 30 sessions in 30 days challenge (note this was back in January and written in February before quarantine!). I began yoga in the middle of last year and have been pretty good at attending classes consistently. I definitely have my preferred classes and teachers and have seen this challenge occur twice and declined to participate. This time however seemed like a perfect time to take part; a new year and a new decade. It allowed me to experience new classes that I have been avoiding as I thought they would be too hard, new teachers, yoga posture training, and new ideas. Interestingly there is one class which follows a particular pattern but depending on who is teaching it, it will be harder or easier. I discovered that I have become used to a particular instructor and that when others deviate from his pattern it pushes my limits. This month I felt stronger than I have for a while; both physically and mentally. When my body aches and the idea of working out is not appealing I have dug deep to get myself onto the mat, but I have also changed the workouts that I am doing to reflect what I feel able to do. But each time I go I chip away at the overall goal and my sense of achievement grows. I am also well on my way to making daily yoga a habit, or at least the idea of each day I will do some sort of activity.
There have been side effects of my 30 day yoga challenge. My husband and son are supporting it even though they may find it a little excessive. My body feels stronger. I have learned how to do some yoga moves correctly which has improved my abilities. I feel more focused. My sleep is better. I am more present in the moment. I am cognizant of what I am eating as that needs to power my daily exercise routine. I have reminded myself that what I set my mind to I can achieve. These are all welcome and are helping me in other ways as well.
The yoga challenge isn’t the only thing I have decided to tackle this year. I have been thinking of EduKatedSTEM for over a year now and this year I have decided to make it a reality. The fact that you are reading this means that my website is now live and I am making progress. There are other things I have decided to do but for now I will leave those under wraps.
My challenge to you is to think of a few different things you want to do. What will help you progress with your career? Do you need some experience that you can begin acquiring? Do you need a skill that you can learn or refine? What will make you feel healthier and happier in this new decade? Are you stuck in a rut and just need to try something different? Make a list and then systematically begin tackling them. Once you begin it becomes easier to go for harder and more complicated goals. And if you fail, remember failing isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It is how you respond to failure that defines you. Pick yourself up and try again.
