Too often in life, we focus on the things we cannot do. Sometimes we cannot do things because of financial limitations, health limitations, family limitations, educational limitations, and so on. Sometimes, we end up limiting ourselves from achieving success in reaching our goals. We end up having a negative attitude which limits our ability to achieve success and happiness in our life.

Through the Internet, I have recently met an individual (个人) whom I found to be very inspiring. He has a positive attitude; he focuses on what he can do. To name a few of his accomplishments: he has set a world record, and is in the Guinness Book of World Records; he is an international poet with over 900 publications; he is an advocate (拥护者) for the disabled; he is the founder of Beyond Limitations Week; he is an ambassador (大使) for the Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation; he has created his own website—http://wheelierecord. Tripod. com/ index. html. And the list could go on!

The individual is Robert M．Hensel. You see, Robert was born spina bifida, a disability that affects the sense of balance and also has an influence on the kidneys (肾脏). Robert could have easily used his disability to limit his achievements, yet he has accomplished more than many. His attitude to life is one that, for me, is inspiring! To quote Robert, “I have learned that limitations open doors that have been closed, showing other ways to meet our needs. Now I look beyond what I can’t do and focus on what I can.”

Let Robert be a reminder for changing attitudes. Use his motto of not focusing on what you can’t do, but focus on what you can do！

While 2020 was upsetting, we shouldn't completely ignore the lessons it taught us about how we prefer to work. Here's what you should focus on to be happy and sustainable(可持续的) professionally in the new year.

•Think big, plan small. It's fine to think big for what you want to achieve in the new year, but break the goal into smaller steps. Once you take a small step and achieve it, it is a motivator.【小题1】For instance:lead two new projects, bring in X-number of new clients by the end of the second quarter, take a leadership class and join an employee resource group.

•Find an adviser. An advisor can provide insight, make connections and offer a dose of confidence when things get tough. It doesn't have to be someone you know.【小题2】Once you’ve identified the person, invite them to have a conversation where you tell why you chose them, what you are looking for and what work you plan to do in the relationship.

•Learn a new skill.【小题3】There are many online courses available that can help with career progress, whether it’s learning a hard skill, like enhancing your programming language abilities, or improving a soft skill, like effective communication.

•【小题4】 Taking charge is a big part of proving you’re promotion material. But that can be hard to do and when you aren’t in a managerial position. The key to showing leadership is being proactive. You can raise your hand and look for opportunities and ways to make contribution rather than be told what to do. You can also reach out to teach member to see what support they need and proactively solve problems.【小题5】

When I started graduate school, I wanted to know how many hours a day I was expected to be in the lab. Not that I was planning to put in the least effort — instead, I was young and loved working, and I didn’t have much else to do anyway.

I don't remember who answered my question. But I do remember that they shrugged and said “It doesn't matter, as long as you get your work done.”

That seemed reasonable. After all, I knew from my previous research experience that sometimes I'd end up staying in the lab until midnight. I also knew that sometimes I wouldn’t get to the lab until noon because I was taking or teaching cases in the mornings. An “as long as you get your work done” policy seemed like a great way to say that graduate students are largely responsible workers who enjoy science.

I never stopped to think about the most important word in that phrase: “done”. As long as I get my work done? Super! But come to think of it. I've never met a scientist who has, even for a day, considered their work “done”. There are always more experiments to do, discoveries to make and questions to answer.

There are always interesting new problems to research into and scientific truths to elucidate. But if there’s no such thing as “done” in science, and you're supposed to work until you get your work done, your working hours are not certain.

Though it may seem like a wise opinion—responsibility in place of flexibility — the truth is that you can never really pull away from work. You can always do a little more, and a little more, but that extra effort doesn’t ease tomorrow’s workload.