Sunday, 15 December 2013

“That’s easy!”, or, Look how far you’ve come.

Most of you reading this are probably tied down with exams or end of the year work projects. If this is true, then I want to thank you for giving me some of your time.

You’re probably pretty stressed. You’ve worked hard and some of the material still doesn’t make sense, or parts of the project just aren’t coming together.

Imagine for a second that you ran into someone in first year or a new company hire. You see them with an introductory textbook, or you know they’ve been hard at work on their first project. And you see that they’re struggling.

Whether wanting a break from your own difficult work, or just wanting to help, you offer an explanation that’s brilliant in how simple it is.

“So that’s the State of Nature?” they ask, in awe of how well you explained it.

“I can’t believe I was missing that analysis metric!” they say when you point out what seemed like an obvious flaw in their report.

And then you go back to your desk, pounding away on work that seems almost unfairly difficult, not realizing the significance of what you just did.

You helped them like it was nothing. Those concepts that were so difficult to them were once just as difficult for you. And look at you now, cutting through jargon like the veteran you are.

Whether your career is academic or professional, you need to see how far you’ve come. Sure you’re more frustrated than you’d like to be, but that shows that your mind is trying to learn. And the fact that you haven’t given up, that shows determination.

All of this shows you’ve got what it takes. Prove it. You know you can.
                                                                                                            
Editor’s note: I kept this one short on purpose, because as much as I appreciate your time, you really should be working. Remember, trying to find motivation to study is the same as procrastinating.

If you have a topic idea, I’d love to hear from you! Suggestions can be made in the comments section or on Twitter @JeremyDeMello.



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