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What brings me joy
Oh my gosh, so very many things. Where do I start? My daughter brings me tremendous joy, so does spending time with family and friends. Then there are dolphins, diving, dancing, dawn and dusk, dessert, doctoral thesis writing, down time curled up reading a book. Just thinking of all the people and passions that bring me joy elicits the joyous feeling. It also makes me feel very grateful, which then reinforces the nice, happy feelings again. Thinking about joyful things quickly improves one’s mood, especially during difficult and stressful times.
Being able to graciously accept positive feedback as much as the negative
I would’ve thought that I would be the absolute last person to be commended at work. First, I’m a full-time student and only work part-time – I feel as if my contributions wouldn’t really be significant because I only work a few hours. Second, I tend to work quietly in the background, so to be applauded for being curious, for seeking to understand different perspectives, for looking for new approaches, partnerships and solutions, and for continuously learning, was a surprise. I didn’t think anyone was ‘looking’, to be honest. I kept thinking to myself, is this a kind way of telling me that I am venturing too far into unknown territory? I tried to keep cool and remind myself that I also need to learn how to take a compliment, Curiosity is one of our work values and in a way, I guess this demonstrated that I was valued at work. Maybe it also supports my desire to be in a research field – you have to want to be continuously learning. Still, perhaps as a research student, maybe I keep expecting negative feedback, I need it after all. How am I going to improve my writing if I don’t have my supervisors sending me feedback on my drafts?
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