When I think of the times in my life where I've been the happiest, the proudest, or the most satisfied, 'responsibility' is the value of mine that comes to mind. Responsibility is hugely important to me because whether I am carrying out my responsibilities and to what extent is a measure of success for me. I get super proud of myself when I execute on the responsibilities someone has entrusted me with, particularly when they are strenuous, like at work, or if they are self imposed, like maintaining a job through college. Starting with school, and through college, now into my career, as I've grown I've taken on more and more responsibility both personally and professionally. Nothing is more satisfying than being tasked with a challenging responsibility and perservering through to the end. When I fulfill professional responsibilities I am reassured that I am providing a meaningful contribution. In general, I really do try to live up to this value.
The last topic that someone asked for my advice on was in what direction she should take her professional career. My friend was being displaced from her role at the time, and asked for my input on what she should do next. I did my best to put myself in her shoes to offer what advice I could. Ultimately, I think I was really able to help her out by providing a second opinion, questioning some of the ideas she had (just to make sure she was seeing things from all angles), and just listening to her express her thoughts.
I feel inspired when I think about my values. Continuously reminding myself of my values would be a great way to fend off stereotype threat if recognize that I am feeling it. Reminding myself of my responsibilities both professionaly and personally would really motivate me to see past stereotype threat so that it doesn't impact me. Beyond this simple exercise, I think that if someone is feeling down at DBC, they should be open and let their peers know how they're feeling. They should reach out to others and express their thoughts and concerns so that others can provide feedback and support. It is likely that someone else will have shared similar thoughts or experiences and can provide meaningful advice.
Copyright: Gary Hammell 2014