Today the NHMRC announced it’s successful grant recipients for 2012 and I was lucky enough to be present when one of our scientists was given the news that they were successful.
I was fortunate enough to be present and what I witnessed was inspiring. A normally reserved individual who is normally observed looking focused and quite serious now beamed with pride. The smile was moving and his eyes told of his excitement at the news. You could tell he was relieved to know that his work could continue. He had just been acknowledged by his peers and received continued funding, funding that would support and ensure that his exceptional work could continue. His lab in fact had achieved the perfect result of 3 out of 3 grants, a fact that kept that smile beaming all that much longer.
Why do I share this? I share it as one of those happy moments at work. The moment when all the hard work pays off and the reward brings joy. A day that you enjoy being at work, a perfect work day!
However not all work days are perfect and leading up to the joys are usually long, taxing and difficult days.
If I were to observe the behaviours of our scientists on on any given day in late February or early March the above description would be very different. Grant writing time is stressful, time consuming and exhausting. They have very little time for anything but grant writing as they compete and try to secure the funding to continue their amazing work.
Not all days at work are perfect and a lot of hard work goes into achieving the perfect days. I believe as long as you know what you love doing, and you know why you are doing it, you can get through the tough days that will hopefully lead to achievements to acknowledge your hard work. Days that will make you feel proud of your achievements and bring a smile to your face as well as make the day of the people around you, like my day today.
In short, I would like to inspire you to strive to do what you love and know what you love, so that you can channel your energies into achieving great heights for yourself and creating perfect days at work.
If you’re having a tough time of it at the moment look ahead and look to the end result – if that end result brings some joy, you’re on the right track. If you can’t see a result maybe it’s time to reassess what you are doing?
We all deserve to experience the joy of achievement. I hope that you get to experience a moment like I experienced today. The smile I observed today will stay with me for a long time to come.
nanherlihen 