How to Start
On starting. Starting with something new or changing a way you have been doing something is hard and often, we are confronted with the question: Where to begin? Throughout this project, one thing that has become clear is that most of the time, we don’t have to reach and stretch for something out there, beyond our boundaries, legitimized when we have acquired yet another degree, but we are already surrounded by everything we need. Read that again, everything you need is already there, and, importantly, there are people who are doing very much the same work as you are. This is an important antidote to the main problem in processing information and learning new things that we have identified, namely isolation. Anxiety and isolation often make it so that we feel like we are on our own and disconnected from the world, humans and non-humans around us. But, importantly, we are not alone. Look around. There you are.
Below is a self-guided exercise to connect in with where you are in the current moment and what kind of change you might have capacity for. We recommend using these prompts for journaling and reflection
Exercise Offer: Start with a quick research on who is working on your topic/issue in your region (re: transformative education, place-based STEM). How can you join forces? What do you bring to the table additionally?
Meditation Offer
On getting unstuck
When you define success, it is easy to do that in a simple success/failure binary that easily sets people up to fail. Instead of these rigid ideas that operate with high thresholds and easily make you (and others) feel stuck, try thinking of your goals and objectives in a layered way, like an onion. The core is the minimum/smallest common denominator you’ll need to reach/achieve, f.e. in any given class. The surrounding layers are additions to this main goal, that you can achieve when you have the time, space, and when things are going well. This way, you can make sure that your main goal will come across without running the risk of spreading yourself too thin and having reading experiences when you have enough space to go beyond this very core where you can assess, recalibrate, and build according to your resources, the group you are working with, etc. (learned from Vesna Jusup)
