This is from the Tiny
Buddah's: Learning
is a Series of Steps: 7 Tips to Master a New Skill
1. Embrace the fear.
I have a fear of not doing well in
the topic I study or work on.
- For instance, I am afraid that I won’t learn the chapter 7 of my statistics textbook information on regression. I am fearful I won’t be able to make the regression analysis needed for my study.
- I fear that as I write the conclusion part of my thesis, I will not be able to connect the dots with my earlier content—finding out there is NO connection.
- I have a fear of getting lost in the work and not getting anything done…Well, not starting, I really won’t get anything done.
My action step: I will just get it done. I once read in Adrianna Huffington’s
book On Becoming Fearless:“the only way to become fearless is overcoming
your fear head-on.”
2. Be patient.
I will be patient with myself. If I
can’t get it right, I will try again and again, and wait to see the development
and the fruit of my work. I’ve learned that anything that requires work needs
to be accompanied with patience to
see results.
I am not going to get frustrated
with having read all of chapter 7 all at once. I will be patient with my
reading and ability to understand. If I don’t get it, I will take my time to
understand it.
3. Take baby steps.
I understand that what I produce will
not be complete today or tomorrow. I have to start by taking baby steps, one
minute at a time, one hour at a time and do my best to stay focused. I’ll take
baby step as I write: one word at a time, one sentence a time, one paragraph at
a time, one page at a time.
The same thing goes for reading.
4. Persist.
Once I lose my fear, stay patient
and take baby steps, what I will need to do is be persistent with my work. I
won’t stop at the one paragraph, or even one page. I will keep on going and be
persistent to that the final product becomes clearer and clearer. I need to
take one thing at a time, do it right, do it again, and again until it become second
nature.
5. Practice self-awareness.
I’ve been practicing self-awareness
for well over a year now. Trying to focus is when my self-awareness comes into
play. In order to make myself work nonstop for at least 15 minutes at a time, I
will place a little Post-It note next to my computer and each time I lose focus
I will make a mark. The point of that is that I will have marks as possible.
6. Don’t take things too seriously.
My goal is to do good job
and not stress about my end-product. If I lose sight of the end product, I tend
to stress and overwhelm easily, especially if I’m on a deadline. I do procrastinate
a lot though…I admit it, but interestingly enough, though, I get work done when
I’m on deadlines. Stresses kicks me in the butt and I get going, but at the
same time it can also paralyses me if I let it. That is why I will be
self-aware and make those marks on my Post-It note.
As I write my thesis I
want to enjoy it. I wan to learn as much as possible and not just regurgitate in
writing what I read. I will so my best. By doing my best, I will not take
myself to seriously because I know I have been trying.
7. Believe in yourself.
Wow,
“believe in myself.” I do believe in
myself. I have all this passion for my work, for public health, but I just don’t
know how to put in writing on the most academic way possible. I believe that I
will become a great writer and researcher one day. All I need is practice,
practice, practice. I believe I can do it, know I can do it. What helps me more
is the fact that I have a great support system of people who believe in me. If
they believe in me, I believe in myself. I will get it done and I will learn to
focus so that when I am in a PhD program I train to be the best researcher I
can be.
So
follow me in my journey in learning to focus for productivity, efficiency and
success to my finishing my Master’s thesis and into my doctorate studies!
Love,
Bea
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