R3ciprocity.com - Prof David Maslach: Innovation; Research Life; Striving Towards Happiness

I suggest that nobody really knows what they’re doing and everybody is living their life for the first time. The only difference between somebody that understands what they’re doing right now is because they put in a tremendous amount of time and effort, and they really do not know what they’re doing right now. The only thing that we can do is just keep going and pushing forward.

I stress the importance of realizing that the rest of the world does not care about you. When you begin to realize that you are a good person, regardless of whether you meet those expectations or a lot not.

As I begin to live my own life I realize that I’m never going to satisfy the expectations of the outside world. Consequently, I’ve learned to create my own cocoon where I’m OK with who I am inside, and I don’t have to meet those outside expectations. I say screw you to the rest of the world. You don’t know me, why should I care?

I live my life, I love my family, and I keep walking forward regardless of what the outside world says. I simply do my work, and go home.

It’s easy to get caught up with the expectations of other people. But you will never satisfy those expectations as they are amorphous and always increasing. The outside world neither knows who you are, or actually cares about you.

Live simply and stop trying to impress others. Once you do this, the priorities in your life become very clear.

I encourage you to pass on positivity, and keep encouraging others to do well. You never know the impact that you’re going to have when you pass on positivity.

when you start seeing that the world is really positive, and you have opportunities at your fingertips, you’re going to start being competitive. You’re going to view the world as if it is growing, and you are part of making the world grow.

You’re going to realize that there are a lot of positive people that he would never met otherwise. Rather than focusing on competing with everybody else, you’re going to view the larger pie and help grow that pie even bigger.

When you start smiling your life will change.

The scientific effort is a political economy. Like everything else that involves humans, the scientific effort requires a political decision-making process. All decisions within science should be viewed through a political lens as the actors involved have limited information and limited resources.

Once you understand that scientific effort is a political process, and likely going to make different decisions. For example, you will think about gatekeepers and political skill within the larger scientific community.

Remember that science is not just about numbers and words, but it’s about the relationships that you form within the scientific community.

I challenge how you are thinking and making inferences about the world. Take a step back and think about what you really want to prioritize in a world that has very few constraints.

I encourage you to see what it’s really like to do some thing by taking the romance out of an occupation. Most often we are going to view a certain occupation or career through a romantic lens. However, what you need to do is actually take an account of what people really do in those particular careers. Once you understand what they really do then you’ll have a good sense that it’s not very romantic.

Take your time with your decision-making, and never look for the quick win. Anybody that thinks you can “fail fast” to make a lot of money doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

#Failure still hurts.

You need to take your time and do a good job. Going for the quick win is going to get you burnt, every time.

You need to remember that it’s not about your skills at or inherent abilities. You have to remember that it is just repetition to get good at some thing. Unbelievable amounts of repetition. Just keep showing up.

It’s important to have adequate celebrations and treats in your life. Member that treats and celebrations build the life. You don’t build a life by being efficient and focusing on productivity all the time. Treats make your life.