So this is the second time I’ve seen this self discovery prompt. The first time was in “Declutter your mind: How to stop worrying, relieve anxiety, and eliminate negative thinking” by S.J. Scott and Barrie Davenport.

By reading Declutter your mind first, I actually have a very long list of both personal and professional values (and probably cheated a little by pairing terms that seemed to go together as a single value).  So I basically went back to my list from reading Declutter and decided that the top 5 values on each list were still relevant (especially since I just finished that book last week 🙂 ).

So my top 5 personal values (as of August 2017) are:

  1. Fitness and Health.  I have realized that I need to be in reasonable shape to be able to enjoy life and to at least combat some known family medical history (diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure).
  2. Intuition.  I need to start listening to my gut more when it comes to job offers. I shouldn’t just brush off the weird vibes as me being anxious and nervous, but it could be that there is a problem with the job offer (or the environment of the work place).
  3. Creativity. I need to get back into doing arts and crafts again. I have an afghan that I started several years ago that I still need to finish. I need to get outside and take more pictures, since I enjoy photography. I also need to try to find the joy again in writing short stories, or poetry.
  4. Learning. Even though I am “officially” out of school, I shouldn’t let the memories of that stop me from continue to pursue new things. I should be brushing up on my Spanish and German, and then trying to figure out what new language I want to learn. I should teach myself how to crochet again, and start making new jewelry.
  5. Relaxation and Cheerfulness.  I need to make sure that I have a clear line between work and home. I know that at times work will have to be taken home, but to make sure that it doesn’t happen every day or every week. I need to remember to get outside more often and sit in the shade of a tree and try to listen to nature. I need to remember to always look for the silver lining in every “bad” situation.

So my top 5 professional values (as of August 2017) are:

  1. Appreciation.  I would like to be treated as one of the team, and not taken for granted.
  2. Recognition and Respect. I would like to be treated as an equal, and not like someone who hasn’t been to college (or only has their BS). I would also like to recognized for the hard work that I do. On the same note of being treated as an equal, that also means not being treated like hired help or the custodians (being told to clean up after other people or clean up areas that I never use or go into).
  3. Learning and evolution. I want to be able to continue learning new skills, therefore continue to evolve as a scientist. I know that I need to read more papers as well to ensure that evolution as scientist as well.  I’ve found that once I know how to do something, and if that is the only thing I’m doing for a prolong period of time–I get bored very easily.
  4. Education and Motivation. I feel more motivated when I know that I’m giving back to society (whether that is doing research that may help find a cure for cancer or an new antibiotic for treatment of bacterial infections; or if it is just mentoring the next generation of scientists). Education, this is similar to point 3 in learning, I need to keep active in trying to learn new skills, or even new areas. This will occur by taking on-line courses, potentially earning a certificate or maybe even an master’s degree in another subject.
  5. Balance. This is needed in that there are only so many hours in the day to do things. Balance is needed in that there should be time to be at the bench doing research, reading papers, potentially taking a new class or course, and then having the home life separate from work (at least 85% of the time).

So, there are my top 5 personal and professional values. These will probably change slightly over time (especially the professional values, as I hopefully find a work environment where I feel like I’m part of the team and not the lonely worker bee trying to do everything that others will get the credit for).  One thing is for certain, I will start learning something new again soon (probably will also include brushing up on either Spanish or German to begin with as well).

So until the next post–remember: Beauty is all around us, if we just open our eyes and our hearts to see the natural beauty of the world and each other.