ND_CJ_Mod_1_Week_2.md

Turing Mod 1 Week 2 PD Journal

Mod 1 Week 2: Building Your Compass

1. Power of self-reflection

• What is challenging about self-reflection?

Self-reflection is challenging because it looks into something that is a hard subject to approach and that's yourself. I think there is a certain fear factor knowing that, even though you have your own control over your thoughts and your body, if it is really you driving the vessel or something different? It's a way to come to terms and reinforce yourself, however the journey to self-discovery is tedious and can be scary.

• How can you continue to build the habit of self-reflection at Turing?

Continue doing it every week. Trying something new for the first time is always hard and scary. That doesn't mean that it is something that will not produce positive results in the end. The first time you try something it is never great, but we learn to take parts of it that stood out to us and we resonated with and continue doing it again. I think self-reflection can follow this same formulae.

2. Social identity mapping

• Outer ring: write words that describe your given identity

Outer Ring: African American & Caucasian, male, last natural born child, midwestern, fighter

• Middle ring: list aspects of your chosen identity

Middle Ring: Caretake, resonance, adventerous, interdependent, optimistic, action-driven

• Center: write your core attributes—traits, behaviors, beliefs, values, characteristics, and skills that you think make you unique as an individual. Select things that are enduring and key to who you are.

Center Ring: Goofy, positive, extrovert, driven, ambitious, dreamer, imaginative, strong-willed, gracious, over-thinker

After you complete your map:

• Underline the items that are important to you

• Put a + beside the items that you believe clearly demonstrate that you fit into the tech industry adventureous, interdependent, action-driven, ambitious, imaginative

• Put a - beside the items that you believe do not demonstrate that you fit into the tech industry goofy, over thinker, gracious

• Put a ? beside the items that you're unsure how they could show your ability to contribute to the tech industry positive, caretaker, extrovert, dreamer, strong-willed, resonance

Reflect:

• What does your social identity tell you about what you already bring to the tech industry?

I think a strong-willed empathic person can really bring a lot to the tech industry. Breaking any current status quo and opening options for anyone that is qualified under a culture to make technology safer and more reliable for it's users is incredibly important.

• What would it look like for some of your minuses or question marks to turn into pluses? In other words, how could some of these traits be assets for the tech industry?

I am a firm believer that anything can benefit in any situation when applied with good intention and in a manner of understand. This will take some time to learn how my minuses and question marks can turn into a positive and apply them directly. Be afraid not to work on the things that you are not comfortable and strong with. Chances are it can turn into an amazing strength with the proper time and nurturing, it just needs a chance!

3. Values mapping Pull out 5 values for each bullet below from this list:

• Always valued: Growth, Performance, Respect for people, Family, Loyalty
• Often valued: Humility, Problem Solving, Confident, Learning, Well-Being
• Sometimes valued: Solitude, Fast Pace, Intuition, Pressure, Courage
• Seldom valued: Location, Risk taking, Being in control, Fairness, Frugality

Reflect:

• What do these values tell you about yourself?

These values tell me that I am heavily invested in personal and professional development for myself and others around me. There are a lot of things that I want let stand in my way, however, because of influeces from the past, less like to take chances without a back-up plan or having a strong foundation. I believe in interpersonal relationships with yourself and others.

4. Workview & Lifeview

• Summarize what good, worthwhile work means to you (Tip: this is NOT about what work you want to do but about why work matters to you):

Work matters to me because it allows me to focus and contribute to something bigger than myself. As long as I can see the value of the work impacting others lives and making them better, it's much easier for me to focus and dedicate myself to that work. Money is always a motivational factor, sure I have to take care of myself and my family as well. Knowing that my skills are valued in a larger community than just outside my family though is the main driving force.

• Lifeview: summarize what you value in life; what matters to you?

Personal growth and the development of one self is my highest value. I believe very firmly in filial piety and taking on the family legacy to continue the chapter with my current generation. Life should be about freedom, challenging what you feel is impossible for you and living a life without regrets! Never forget the foundation that you started with and came from though.

• Where do your views on work and life complement each other?

A lot of it involves dedication and understanding to help. The time that I feel best and my fulfilled is when I get feedback. Whether the feedback is good or bad is irrelevant, it allows me the opportunity to know what is what and what is not. It allows me the opportunity to make up for my mistakes and build a stronger foundation. Work and life to me is the same in this regard. There is no "work life" and "personal life", they are both the same life. I work hard and play hard. With that said though, there are disciplines and mindsets in place that know what is the right thing to do to allow the two to existing interdependantly rather than separately.

Where do they clash?

I often bring my work home, definitely a work-a-holic and that is a big flaw of mine. Sometimes, this also means that I can get too relaxed at work since the two blend. This means that I have to discipline myself to hold the same values across both personal and professional life so I am just me, and not a different person at home as opposed to work.

Does one drive the other? How?

Definitely. I want to work harder to create a better personal life (money driven is still there). I want to have more freedom with professional life (not being restricted by location for example) to have a better personal life.