In any aspect of a scientist’s life, obstacles should not deter them from pursuing their goals.
We’ve all been there. Hit a brick wall. Been through emotional turmoil. Found a problem that we couldn’t face. In science, probably more than any other field (whether academia or industry), researchers face this almost daily. An experiment that continues to fail, lack of inspiration for a report, difficulties finding a job, difficulties finding funding, the list goes on. Yet the way scientists tackle these obstacles all depends on their perspectives.
Is this what the scientific endeavour is all about anyway? If a scientific theory runs out of steam and a particular experiment shows it can’t possibly be the right theory, scientists don’t just give up. They go back to the drawing board. They think about the problem from a different angle and try again. If that still doesn’t work, and all avenues have been explored, sometimes, someone else might come along and bring with them an idea that completely shifts everyone’s thinking. Breaking up the current mindset with a new paradigm that completely shifts the perspective of the problem and letting science advance.
Why is it then, that many scientists don’t apply this dogged determination to other aspects of their lives? Why look at obstacles as obstacles?
Think of them learning opportunities, a chance to look failure in the eye and say: OK. That wasn’t how it should be done. Let’s try again. What did I learn and what could I do differently this time? Then you might make some breakthroughs in other parts of your life and surprise yourself with what you are capable of.
Last weekend a friend of mine shared a poem with me that I want to share with you. I’ve never been a big fan of poetry, but this one struck a chord. I hope this poem comes as some inspiration to all scientists that are currently stuck on a problem, about to give up. Think of it as a challenge: If you say you can’t do it, then you need to turn around and say to yourself: YES I CAN!
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.
-By Edgar Albert Guest
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This post is great, it’s an idea that is sometimes so easily forgotten! Recently I’ve tried to get into the habit of saying ‘how do we do this?’ rather than ‘can we do this?’ – it’s not so eloquent as the poem, but it immediately forces you to approach a brick wall differently!