(no subject)
So this week I finally started my new position in the Inorganic's lab, having missed all of last week thanks to the flu. Monday and Tuesday, I was stuck in that horrible limbo of 'I've no idea hat I'm doing yet...help me..give me training...I standing around looking like a lost sheep. Wednesday onward wasn't so awful. I have now an idea of what I will be doing when I get in the next morning. It is going to be a busy position and potentially a difficult one. The boss isn't great, the workload large and the stress level high. The person I am taking over from handed his notice in as he just couldn't take any more. However I believe that if keep my head down, not take any stick from anyone and keep on top of things daily, it won't turn into the hell that the previous lab assistant supposedly went through.
Everyone is being really supportive, and some of them are genuinely concerned about if I am settling in OK. One colleague however seems to be convinced that I will be back with them in sample reception soon. It's almost as if she believe I will not be able to hack the job. What really concerns me is that this springs not from her lack of confidence in me but her knowledge that she herself would not be able to handle this position. If she couldn't handle the position then how on earth could anyone else handle the position.
This same colleague went home early ttoday as she had a doctors appointment. sh has been feeling rather low and down lately. She claims her job in sample reception is getting to her. Its getting to stressful. Combine this with a few other reasons/incidents and I begin to wonder..is it normal to struggle to cope with this level of work. I never found sample reception particualrly stressful, rather the opposite really. Also my flatmate left Uni early do to similar reasons of not being able to handle the stress, which resulted in depression. Again, whilst uni was a stressful period in my life, never did I truly think that I just couldn't handle it. the thought of quitting never crossed my mind, even during the hardest of times.
I've always had the mentality of 'If I try hard enough, then it will happen'. Which is not to say it always does. There have been times where I haven't tried my hardest, but never where it has truly mattered I don't think. All this has me wondering as I mentioned previously. Is it normal for a person to be unable to cope with something I myself could. Does this mean that I consider my colleague and previous flatmate weak. Surely it is not their fault that they feel the way they do. Or does this mean that I am stronger than them. That I have taken what has been thrown at me, taken on an awful job and know that I will survive it.
What does it mean to be a strong? I believe that to take what you are given in life, deal with it, survive it, learn from it and grow as a result makes someone strong. By this logic, that these friends have not been able to do so, would mean that they are not strong. The answer may be that neither of are strong or weak, but just are. We are all simply dealing with our lot in life in different ways, some by rushing head on and some by trying to find another way that suits us better. This does not make anyone stronger than the other, just different. It is something to think about.
Everyone is being really supportive, and some of them are genuinely concerned about if I am settling in OK. One colleague however seems to be convinced that I will be back with them in sample reception soon. It's almost as if she believe I will not be able to hack the job. What really concerns me is that this springs not from her lack of confidence in me but her knowledge that she herself would not be able to handle this position. If she couldn't handle the position then how on earth could anyone else handle the position.
This same colleague went home early ttoday as she had a doctors appointment. sh has been feeling rather low and down lately. She claims her job in sample reception is getting to her. Its getting to stressful. Combine this with a few other reasons/incidents and I begin to wonder..is it normal to struggle to cope with this level of work. I never found sample reception particualrly stressful, rather the opposite really. Also my flatmate left Uni early do to similar reasons of not being able to handle the stress, which resulted in depression. Again, whilst uni was a stressful period in my life, never did I truly think that I just couldn't handle it. the thought of quitting never crossed my mind, even during the hardest of times.
I've always had the mentality of 'If I try hard enough, then it will happen'. Which is not to say it always does. There have been times where I haven't tried my hardest, but never where it has truly mattered I don't think. All this has me wondering as I mentioned previously. Is it normal for a person to be unable to cope with something I myself could. Does this mean that I consider my colleague and previous flatmate weak. Surely it is not their fault that they feel the way they do. Or does this mean that I am stronger than them. That I have taken what has been thrown at me, taken on an awful job and know that I will survive it.
What does it mean to be a strong? I believe that to take what you are given in life, deal with it, survive it, learn from it and grow as a result makes someone strong. By this logic, that these friends have not been able to do so, would mean that they are not strong. The answer may be that neither of are strong or weak, but just are. We are all simply dealing with our lot in life in different ways, some by rushing head on and some by trying to find another way that suits us better. This does not make anyone stronger than the other, just different. It is something to think about.