• Question: How do you keep motivated to keep doing your research?

    Asked by anon-199627 to Sylvia, Sumit, Martin, Kate, Bryony, Aryanne on 4 Mar 2019. This question was also asked by anon-199500.
    • Photo: Martin McCoustra

      Martin McCoustra answered on 4 Mar 2019:

      Seeing my science being used by others is a strong motivation to continue the work I do!

    • Photo: Kate McGonagle

      Kate McGonagle answered on 4 Mar 2019:

      Hey Anastasia, I think it’s pretty easy to stay motivated when the end goal is creating a medicine that could save people’s lives! That’s always in my mind. Even though some days are tough when nothing is working and you don’t understand why…time for a cup of tea and a think and then back at it to try something else.

    • Photo: Sylvia Soldatou

      Sylvia Soldatou answered on 4 Mar 2019:

      Sometimes experiments fail and you have to repeat them again and again, and that can be frustrating! The most important thing in science is to remember that failed experiments are part of the learning process! I always keep that in mind to stay motivated! Also, I always look at the bigger picture which is the discivery of something new 😊

    • Photo: Bryony Hockin

      Bryony Hockin answered on 4 Mar 2019:

      Hi Anastasia, that’s a great question! Sometimes when you’re doing science it can be hard to stay motivated because science sometimes doesn’t behave the way you expect it to… But the way I stay motivated is to think about the future of my research. One day soon, I will be able to use the chemicals that I make to break down CO2, and that could really help the environment. I am also motivated by the students that I teach. When I explain some chemistry to a student and they understand it and say thank you, it makes me so happy!

    • Photo: Sumit Konar

      Sumit Konar answered on 5 Mar 2019: last edited 5 Mar 2019 9:23 pm

      You write a poem/story and now you want it to publish in your school magazine. Editor of the magazine only takes 50 out of 100 submissions. After few days it was announced that yours’ is selected and you finally made it. What do you feel? This gives you motivation. After few days your friends or strangers came and said your poem is absolutely fantastic. This is even more rewarding. Next time you try for another magazine where only 10 out of 100 submissions will be published. Right?
      This is exactly how we feel when our work is published and when we see other people are following my work. This is called motivation. But research is not only success stories. We also accept failures and try to understand why it failed. The most important part is: we need to keep trying.

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