Week Eight: Homeostasis

In the 1996 film Bio-Dome two quirky characters (Bud and Doyle) get roped into a project to rescue self-contained environment project.  A plot twist incurs where substantial damage is done to the dome that needs to be repaired internally.  As the film progresses Bud and Doyle work hard to restore the “Bio-Dome” to homeostasis, or “the property of a system that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition of properties” (Homeostasis, 2011).  To me, being a graduate student is at times like physically being an organic dome  that undergoes unnecessary or unusual stress, much like the stress put on the Bio-Dome.  We too need to constantly seek out ways to retain homeostasis and balance within our lives.

As another perspective on this similar thought I am reminded of the book Tau Te Ching roughly translated as “the book of the way”.  This book is a modern translation of the writings of the philosopher Lao-tzu originating around 500 B. C.  Within this book one of the entries states the following,

“Being and non-being create each other.

Difficult and easy support each other.

Long and short define each other.

High and low depend on each other.

Before and after follow each other” (Mitchell, 1988, p. 2).

This quote eloquently describes the extremes that exist in life and how they are dependent on each other.  There are extremes in everything that happens in daily life, and at times those extremes are created by us as individuals.  This thought helps remind me that within doctoral graduate study it is important to remain level headed and balanced.  To not celebrate productivity too hard, and to not let the work load weigh you down too much.  To not let great results get you too high, or to let poor results get you too low.  The process of graduate study is about learning, so we must remain focused on what lessons and feedback are available to us to learn from.  For the next three years there will always be plenty to do and it will only be accomplished one word at a time.  Remaining on the level can help to preserve and balance emotional peaks and valleys associated with the journey.

I don’t intend to sound like we should all take on the qualities of drones that just slowly drudge through our work.  I am just realizing that if I let it, the work load and stress associated with graduate study could weigh me down more than it should.

I will try to remind myself of this as I continue to make progress through the work that remains this semester and in semesters to follow.

Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.


Resources:

Blumenthal, J. (Producer), & Bloom, J. (Director). (1996). Bio-Dome. [Motion Picture]. United States: MGM.

Mitchell, S. (1988). Tao te ching. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Week Seven: Re-Group

This is a little behind schedule, my apologies.  I have been on fall break, which relates to the topic of the week.

Within the semester there is time built in to give students a chance to re-group and re-energize.  This week was fall break and it was nice to have some time to relax and look at projects that lie ahead throughout the semester.  That was my activity for this week.  Getting refreshed, and re-grouped to be as aggressive as possible with the remaining work of the semester.  This rest will pay off in fighting off germs and illness later on in the semester (I hope).

This time also serves as a good chance to evaluate what lies ahead and what the priorities remaining for the rest of the semester are.  This includes working ahead on some projects that will take considerable time and effort, reducing the stress that will be be present within the closing weeks of the semester.

Techniques I have tried that may or may not be worth considering.

• Work small amounts on final projects each day of the break to chip away at them and feel a bit more confident in their direction.

Week Six: Mentors and Motivators

Like most terminology the word mentor has Greek origins.  To read a story about where the term mentor was devised check here.

Turner states that a mentor is “an experienced person who advises, guides, teaches, inspires, challenges and corrects, and serves as a role model” (Turner, 2004, p.5).  Mentors have  a critical educational value in graduate education.  Many of us are surrounded by people who have knowledge and expertise and are more than willing to share what they know to help others learn and grow.  It is important to capitalize on these opportunities whenever possible.

To me there are three types of mentors.  

• Those who have the position you would like to have and can give you insights on how to get there.
• Those that do not have the position you would like but have many skills and resources to develop skills necessary to reach your professional goals.
• Those that are in a similar position (other graduate students) to you that have great perspective on how to be successful and navigate graduate school.  Their insights will probably be more raw and practical and help you survive and capitalize on opportunities within the program.  Asking real questions to these folks helps navigate the intricacies of a graduate program.

All three types of mentors offer tremendous wisdom and insight that is necessary to progress through the program and eventually professionally.  Finding folks that are easy to connect with to foster these outstanding learning and networking opportunities is a key to graduate student success.  This process loosely involves the following steps

1. Identify individuals who have similar passions and interests (see above categories)
2. Initiate contact and relationship
3. Foster relationship
4. Secure a project or committee that connects you to them for a longer duration of time to build a relational depth (If geographic proximity is a challenge keeping a mentor in the loop about what is happening in your professional world helps keeps ties fresh)

Motivators are people that help remind us of why we are committed to our work.  They can be students, children, family, colleagues or someplace random like this.  Reminding in touch with motivators can help in times of struggle or lack of professional clarity.  We have all had days that were harder than others.  Those are the days that I find myself needing to remember motivators and their value to me.  As I write this I am thinking about needing a refresher.  

Techniques I have tried that may or may not be worth considering.

• Being proactive to reach out to people that I feel a connection with so far.
• Say thank you to those who are helpful to you.  I know that I would not be where I am without some tremendous people.  I do not thank them enough.  So this message serves as a reminder that I should send thanks to them again.
• Remembering in times of struggle that there are motivators out there that can keep you in touch with the purpose of the journey. 

Quote that best represents the week.

• One of my favorite books of all time.  Tuesdays with Morrie is filled with great quotes, but here are two favorites
• "The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in" (Albom, 1997, p. 52).
• "In the beginning of life, when we were infants, we need others to survive, right? And at the end of life, when you get like me, you need others to survive, right? But here's the secret: in between, we need others as well" (p. 157).

Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.

Resources:

Albom, M. (1997). Tuesdays with Morrie. New York, NY: Doubleday.

Neteinstein (2007, February 11).  Team Hoyt - Dick and Rick Hoyt. Retrieve September 30, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flRvsO8m_KI.

Turner,  M. (2004). Mentoring: an overview.  Retrieved from

http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/hr/mentoring/Mentoring-anOverviewMikeMunroTurner.pdf