The 'Prescription' to Elevate yourself

Initially, I want to call this article the prescription of success, but it sounds like too much a cliche. However, the emphasis here is not the success, because it varies from one person to another, and I do not want to push a single conception of success. I would rather everybody to be comfortable and satisfied with your own life and define your own success without settling down to the universal value. The focal point here is the prescription, mindset, which will, to some extent, help you find the inner strength like that. Mindset is no more than a set of beliefs which are so powerful that can affect your behaviors. Although it sounds robust, it still can be altered. Before we dive into the theory, let me share a change of my mindset recently. As a Ph.D. student, there are lots of dedicated and diligent people around me. One of my best friends, who is already a professor now, always has research papers with him, even when he was traveling with us. He always uses fragmented time, when waiting for the plane, by the poolside, or after a day of hiking. Lets put it this way - he kept learning stuff when I played with my phone or watched soap opera. When I look at him, I thought: hey dude, we are on vacation, stop being like that.

I always think when I travel, I do not do any academically related tasks because I cannot focus. I won't do those things properly. I told myself: you will never be like him, so you do not need to try. I hold this mindset for many years, not because I do not want to be him or I am addicted to the phone, just because I think I am not capable of that. I changed this mindset as I started my trip to Iceland. We took off on Thursday, but the supervisor of my research team asked me on Wednesday to submit a project outline to him that Friday. It means that I would not be able to finish it before I go, so I printed the papers I need and get down the outline while I was waiting for the plane, as well as on the plane. I finished my outline before my foot stepped on the ground of Iceland. I actually felt pretty good about my small accomplishment. Such change did not affect my trip at all, instead, it makes me deserve the journey more. I realized that I am not incapable of doing academic tasks during a vacation. I just do not want to do it. Laura Vanderkam, a time management expert, once said that: "Time is a choice...we're smart people, we have the power to fill our lives with the things that deserve to be there. " I can spend the majority of the time enjoy my vacation, but I can also fill in things here and there to achieve more. Clearly, my friend got this mindset long before me (this ‘foxy’ man graduated two years before me） o(╥﹏╥)o. I use my example to illustrate the idea, but not to encourage you to do the same thing, unless you perceive it as a good idea. The argument I want to make here is even you have a little bit of motivation to try something new in your life, do it. Do not hinder by those thoughts, such as "that's not me," "I cannot be like that," or "It is too late to change." Give it a try, and if you fail, you can give up without any regrets. If you fail, you still want to try, then keep working on it, that means you enjoy doing it. Sir Ken Robenson's TedTalk enlightened me. He said when we grow up, we lost the ability to fail. Well, we need to find that ability back. Failure is a way to help you learn, to train your brain to do things right next time. It's time to back to the mindset theory. Carol Dweck named the above mindset as 'growth mindset.' People who like challenges and believe he or she can learn everything. On the contrary, people think he or she has limited ability and tends to stick with what they know has a 'fixed mindset.' Dweck published her book: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success in 2007. It is incredibly influential, especially in the education field, as teachers and parents want to know how to foster growth mindset in children. As I said in the beginning, I am not encouraging you to do anything you do not like which were forced by universal values. I want you to find your interest, find your way, find the strength you want to build, start with even small changes, and your life will be really different than right now.