When I think of my greatest strength the attribute that really resonates is my want to help and care for others. This empathy for those around me has never faltered, especially for those who struggle to find their footing or place in this world. I am the type of person that turns around to go buy groceries for the homeless couple and their dog on the street corner. The person that seeks to keep their friends and strangers alike safe when they are at their darkest. This the ability to understand and share the feelings of another has not only brought me closer to those around me but has allowed me to have a better understanding of people as a whole. I am able to communicate, interact, create and build with people in a way that most people may not be able to, and for that I truely believe this is my greatest strength.
The way I have found myself working best is in a way a combination of styles. For one, when working together in a team I can more easily tackle new concepts and ideas. Building upon those in my group allows me to visualize better the task at hand and feel more comfortable exploring beyond my comfor zone. Though, in saying that, when it comes to my personal responsibilities in a project I tend to excell when I am more alone; when I am in control of how the end product is put together. Basically I find myself thriving in groups in the beginnning and then allowing myself to take what I need and learned from these groups and complete the final product by myself.
Without a doubt the area I need the most improvement in is my emotional self. This means being okay with not only failing but also embracing the struggle instead of emotionally floundering when it arises. I tend to be my own worst enemy and, when introduced to a large problem, have the tendency to shut down and allow my anxiety to swallow me whole. This also rears its head when I am given criticism, even if it's constructive. The pressure I put on myself to be pefect right away and the fall out from when I am not is something I am and will be continuing to work on.
I hope to maximize my strengths by first really getting to know what they are. Just as I continue to my journey through Turing so do I hope to continue my personal and professional growth. Creating this growth mindset of sorts is really want I'm hoping to perfect through my new career in software. Where in the past I have focused solely on my weak points I hope to instead find and build upon my love of helpng people, my inate need to solve problems and puzzles alike, and to strive to bring people closer, safer, and happier through what I can create. By findng a place and people that also share these vaules I know I can contnue to build upon my strengths and make these points realties!
Realizing what strengths you have can better allow you to pin point when and where you can be the greatest amount of help. For me I LOVE a good challenge, to me figuring out a problem is something I not only excell at but also throughly enjoy doing. From this knowledge, in additon to my strength of wanting to help others, I know that I would benefit greatly when one of my teammates became stuck or frustrated. By knowing about my strengths I can be the best I can be within my team and company as a whole. This also goes for knowing your working preferences. Having this knowledge again will allow you to be as productive and happy as possible whereever you may find yourself.
What efforts do you make to manage your learning process? Are these efforts successful? What challenges have inhibited your ability to manage your learning process effectively?
One of the things I have been implementing recently has been just getting and staying organized. This allows me to place a strong hold of sorts against my anxiety when it comes to my learning process. For this effort yes, it has in a way been successful. In that it has helped me stay better on track and which then allows me to feel better about my progress and in return my abilities to continue on. The challenge that I am still grappling with is not allowing myself to get swept away by this same anxiety and seld doubt. I have always struggled in believing in myself.. and when I feel like I am not progressing, or don't understand right away, I push myself down and declare I am "too stupid' or "not good enough". Afterwards, it takes a decent amount of time to allow myself to try again or to believe that I can actually accomplish what I want. Due to this my learning process throughout my life is a very three steps forward, two steps back type of deal.
When reading Coates' article it struck me almost instantly how paralleled my own struggles and his were. That feeling of stumbling around is something that I've felt alot and have always pushed against. However, it is in his response to this fumbling, this feelings of self doubt and hopelessness that I find strongest in my learning process. I have been, and will continue, to strive to not let the lows of learning overtake and hault my growth, instead opting to embrace the struggle and bask in highs of overcoming them.
What role does your emotional state of mind play in your learning? How do your successes and failures at learning affect your emotional state?
I have always been a rather emotional person, my feelings usually right under the surface. Unfortunately, my emotional state of mind has been derdged in anxiety and depression since I was a little girl; effecting not only my personal life but also my academic and professional life as well. The whirlwind that it can be has stunted my way of learning for awhile now but thanfully I have been making huge strides in allowing myself to believe I can succeed and overcome things I once couldn't. My failures usually would lead my down a spiral where I would ultimately give up but I am going to now allow not only my sucesses but also these lows of learning effect both my mental state and growth as a whole in a positive way.
I am preparing myself for Turing by continuing to stay organized and on top of my work and learing process. Instead of faltering back to old ways when I hit a low in my progress I am going to reach out to my classmates, my friends, my teachers, and anyone else I can to help me get through that snag and continue move forward. I am also planning on speaking with schools psychologist when I feel particularly mentally fatigued but also when I am doing well; celebrating your wins is just as if not more important! Overall, I am preparing myself by believing in myself and acknowledging that I am smart, capable and excited to start this new journey in my life!