Looking at this past year, the first things that I recall: the struggle of reading the same thesis sentence again and again until thesis looked better spelled as theses or thesis? no definitely theesees! But I also remember those true friends and great support that got me through it – confidently reassuring me it is indeed thesis. Those friends with their own ideas, backgrounds, differences and hobbies, helped me broaden my perspective not just in my studies but in my understanding of life and business. I’ve opened my eyes wider and now see the dynamics of everything around me just a bit clearer. Yes, even some hard hitting lessons when finishing your master’s thesis can teach you something about this world…
The first lesson I learnt was: never shut-out Kinda. We do not learn to copy, but to use and adapt, to question, build upon and discover even better approaches. Without keeping a death-grip on our own ideas, theory and science do not progress and Kinda becomes a sad version of any guru instead of an agent of change.The number of articles, lecturers, theories, models and concrete methods I have studied doesn’t replace the value of my own voice and ideas.
The second, as children we are told to study hard to get good grades. “But WHY?!?” we ask and are definitively shut down with the “because you have to.” This approach of shoulds and musts has much bigger, darker implications as an adult. Just having to, doesn’t cut it when figuring out a career path and writing a master’s thesis on top of feeding yourself and making sure there are clean clothes to wear. Instead of diving excitedly into my project, I saw it as a topic and a paper I MUST do. So, like a 6-year-old who MUST clean their room before playing with her friends, I shoved the clothes under the bed and hid the toys under the sheets. I tried to find shortcuts to quick understanding matching my just have to pass mentality. With feet dragging and gritted teeth, I couldn’t figure out why what I had to do wasn’t getting done. It wasn’t until I searched for the value of my topic for me that I began to learn and succeed. I dug deep into the material, explored with self-driven intention and let my mind roll with it. It isn’t the topic, the professor or the class that limits learning but the restriction a “have to” approach places on your results.
The third: After making sure your learning is indeed being done for you, the “what to do with it” becomes bigger and better. I entered my program thinking I would get a typical consultancy position after graduating. After all, this was the safe presumed course of action. But in reality, I found this wasn’t for me. A small entertainment company with big ambitions of creating unique experiential learning programs captured my attention. Combined with my studies, this opened a door for creative applications and exciting social invention that matches my own dreams. I presumed choosing a course of learning would force me into a box. Being flexible for these path changes ahead of you, learning adapts as you choose how to apply it to what you dream possible.
*Photo from the latest experiential learning teambuilding program which I participated in facilitating early this June.
So, I did end up passing that master’s thesis and sometimes I still think in the “have to” but as I head off to inevitably learn more lessons, I can say taking these three with me make me a wiser, master-completed character ready to take on the next challenges in my life.
lifeintilburg2015 