learn something new

 I just finished Adam Grant's Think Again, and it was so interesting and so helpful for thinking about my own thinking--and how to have better conversations with people. He goes through research about what helps people change their minds and why it matters, and he offers tangible, actionable steps to think like a scientist. His goal is for us to be open and willing to update and revise our beliefs and to have better interactions with others on a variety of topics.

This book struck a chord with me, in part because of my own commitment to curiosity and learning. However, like anyone, I can get hung up on my own beliefs about what I think is right, despite evidence to the contrary, and I can react against what I see as "wrong" ideas or information without even pausing to assess the data. So I think one goal I have is to pick something I think is true and dig into it more at least once a week and reflect on what I learned here. Here are my results from Grant's quiz:

Pretty interesting, though I think my scores were swayed by reading the book and wanting to be a scientist--though, I have often said that I am a learner and am a curious person, so those traits come out here, I think.

Another thing Grant points out is not feeling tied to a predetermined path--we should stop to reassess whether our career is what we want it to be or other elements of our lives. I've been thinking about this a lot in reference to work, since the past year (but maybe more like past two years) have had a fair share of unhappiness and misery at work, in part because of relationship conflicts. I think Grant would say it's time to do a career check-up. 

Luckily, sabbatical is giving me life--like, I'm loving my job like never before. I'm excited to do my work, and it feels invigorating and engaging. Why? It's because I can focus on projects that are meaningful and important to me, I have a high degree of autonomy with my time, and I'm learning new things (both for my research and in my new role as a faculty associate with the Center for Teaching and Learning). So, for me, I'm definitely in the career I want to be in, but I'll have to think about how to move back into a "normal" academic year and maintain meaningful, autonomous work with an element of learning new things. Can that happen at my current institution, or should I look elsewhere? That, I suppose is what I'll have to answer next year.