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Chapter 17 - Overcoming Obstacles

Persisting, Pivoting, and Paying Attention to Unforeseen Opportunities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 April 2022

By
Rachel Pruchno
Edited by
Jamila Bookwala  and
Nicky J. Newton
Jamila Bookwala
Affiliation:
Lafayette College, Pennsylvania
Nicky J. Newton
Affiliation:
Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario
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Summary

The obstacles we face determine the people we become. In this chapter I look back on my life and show how an obstacle I experienced early in my professional career – failing my qualifying exam – prepared me to navigate the inevitable failures that come with being a scientist. Not only did this early obstacle help me as I faced subsequent obstacles in my professional career, so too did it help me in my personal life. The obstacles I faced taught me that there are times to persist, times to pivot, and times to pay attention to unforeseen opportunities.

Type
Chapter
Information
Reflections from Pioneering Women in Psychology , pp. 216 - 227
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

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