Finding problems

Change is uncomfortable. But it is something we all have to constantly deal with. As Heraclitus said ‘Change is the only constant’. It is not always the strongest or the fastest that always win but is those who best adapted to the change, to paraphrase Darwin. It is easy to find comfort in these adages but when you have to deal with it yourself it is not that easy.

Right now I am doing a lot of learning, un-learning and re-learning in new lab. I need to find my own territory. Explore new avenues to establish a unique niche. Hope I will be able to emerge as one of the surviving fittest.  In the past few months I realized that one important thing I need to have focus. Focus on one or two very interesting project(s). Otherwise things can easily get out of control. I do not think I have done anything significant in the past 6 months. In no time it will be come 1 year. I should not feel lost by that time. Working smart as well as hard is important.

During times of struggles, there are not many people around you. One may feel lonely and dejected. I strongly feel that such phases should be detested. One must strive the best to get out of this period as fast as possible. The moment one start to enjoy these struggle and start to blame others and ones own fate or project for this plight the career would become doomed for peril. I need to find an important scientific problem as fast as possible. It does not matter whether I will be successful in solving the problem, but what does matter is whether enjoy the attempt to solve it. If I enjoy it, I would consider myself accomplished scientist. That’s all I want now. 

What is interesting out there? There are so many things interesting. But what is a feasible problem to take on. A problem that can be solved with available technologies. I need to read more and work harder. Some time it is even harder to find a good problem than solving it! But that reveal the lack of depth in knowledge. If I had deep knowledge in a field I would know what is the next thing to be done. That should be the goal. I am under pressure now. Hopefully it will turn out to be a positive stress.

“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else” – Einstein, A