What is success, and how do we achieve it? I think it is different for every human being on this earth and no two people would define it in the same way. Some days for me are successful if I am able to get out of bed in the morning to drag myself to statistics at 9 am with 3 hours of sleep the night before. Others, are full of fulfilling accomplishments and appreciation of the beautiful world we live in. Others are a success simply because I was able to smile at someone and bring a little sunshine to their day. Success is one of the words in our vocabulary which is extremely relative to the beholder of its vision and context. But what does it mean to me?
Like this quote to the right, I feel like success to me means that I was able to do all the little things that make for a happy and fulfilling life for me. Making my bed, brushing my teeth, praying in the morning, getting ready for school, getting a decent breakfast, finishing my homework, getting everything done at work, learning something new, appreciating God's creations, talking to my family, writing a letter, exercising, reading scriptures, working on my project proposal, learning a new word in Twi, doing well on a test, singing a song, doing the dishes, feeling the sun on my skin, being kind to others, helping out when I was not asked, staying awake in class, writing in my journal, only going on facebook once a day, thinking about others, reading a book, visiting a friend I haven't seen in awhile,
understanding my role as a woman here on earth, recognizing God's hand in all things, coming home to a clean house, making a new friend, telling my Dad how much I love him, expressing gratitude, dancing, going to the park, marveling at the beauty of this life, learning how to love others, teaching someone something, never taking someone's sunshine away, smiling at pictures of my nephews, gaining insight about something from my sister, laughing at a joke, helping out a friend, helping out a stranger... If I could I would keep that list going forever. For now I will just keep listing the little successes in my mind. I think that every day that we are alive is a success. Heavenly Father gave us bodies and free agency and He trusts us with this amazing power to live. So what are we going to do with it? Are we going to sit on the couch thinking about all the things we should have done that day or are we going to praise His name and recognize the beauty of every single breath, every single step, and every single moment that we experience here on this earth. Every day is a success really and if we just remember that, if I just remember that then I will have such a beautiful experience in the field.Beyond those successes that I feel every day, I wonder what will feel like a success when it comes to my research. I honestly have no idea and the closer my departure date, the less prepared I feel. I don't know what my typical day will be like. I don't know what I am going to eat, I don't know what I am going to do, I don't know what I am going to wear, I don't even know if my methods and planning for my research are going to work out at all. That is the beauty of this though, I just don't know. I am going into this with zero expectations because I don't even know what to think about most things. I just realized that I have been sitting here thinking about this concept for an hour already...what is it going to be like when I am in the field reflecting upon my day. Will I be happy with the research I was able to do that day? Did I collect data that is conducive to my research question? Did I bring a smile to someone? Did I learn from the Ghanaian people and embrace their culture that day? Was I able to eat the food? Did I stop to thank my Heavenly Father for the opportunity to be there? What kinds of things are going to spell out SUCCESS for me while I am in Ghana? I really don't know. I don't know if my research methods are actually going to produce the results I am seeking. I don't know if I will have valid research to write my senior thesis on at the end of the summer. I don't know how I am going to react to culture shock and a new experience in a new place with hundreds of strangers and no family nearby. I don't know how I am going to cope with my back pain if I have to stand up a lot during my volunteer/research hours at the hospital. I don't even know how I am going to really dive into my research and get it done. But the one thing that I do know is that I am going to "embrace each day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks" -Elder Busche. That will be my success. I am going to have a good experience. I am going to learn about the people in Ghana as a friend, as an anthropologist, as a foreigner, an outsider, a woman, a girl, a human being. I am going to let this experience change me. I am going to MAKE each day a success.
Glad you're getting into these kinds of thoughts already. It took me a while to wrap my brain around the fact that success is completely subjective--that it is not, in fact, determined by Katie's always-constant guidelines for perfection. That was a hard lesson for me to learn, and it was the basis for a lot of group discussion while in the field. Researcher morale is SO important, so feeling like you're successful every single day will be HUGE factor in what you're able to accomplish in the short amount of time that you have available. I think you've already gotten there with your realizations, but I just want to emphasize that you will NOT be able to function under the same level of productivity and your usual capabilities will be stunted by culture shock and all the things you'll have to do very differently than you've learned your entire life. I think it's hard for those of us who really push ourselves (something that I think is a characteristic of all field-study students) to accept less in our performance. But lowering your expectations of yourself (At least initially) will be the best favor you will ever do for yourself. Great insights, Lauren! I look forward to a follow-up on this while you're in the field.
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