It was a few months ago that I was at a networking event for people from the Spanish scientific community. They invited a few of us living in Houston to meet with the Spanish Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Mr. Pedro Duque.

This experience was very interesting for me, not only for the great and unique opportunity to meet the Minister, who also happens to be a former astronaut, but also for the challenge that meant to me. 

During this experience I learnt a couple of things about myself and I want to share them because maybe they resonate with you.

The first thing I learnt had to do with me getting out of my little box. 

Accepting the invitation was challenging and pushing me out of my comfort zone because I didn't feel like I belonged in the room. I questioned the fact that I was invited and at first I was contemplating not attending. 

I wasn’t sure of why I should be there, and I wasn't comfortable with the idea of being in the room with people I didn't know and I felt intimidated by. 

If this happened a few years ago, I’d probably have said no. But, since I am learning and leaning towards facing my fears, I took my excuses and fears as the signals that I should go. 

Even if I didn't belong in the room, at least I was going to force myself to meet new people, and get our of my comfort zone in a big way by talking one on one with the Minister. 

And there I went. We were about 20 invitees plus the people from the Consulate and the Minister. 

I only knew the admin from the Consulate. She was the only familiar face. The rest…new to me. 

So I forced myself to talk to the people there, I engaged in conversations with the scientist, researches, and professors and with the Minister himself. 

I was able to listen, ask questions and carry on with conversations with the people I met that were very interesting. 

I’m very glad I made the decision to go. It showed me that I could get into new spaces and be engaged and interested in knowing new people. 

It let me get out of my fear of not belonging and understanding that it doesn't matter who you are or where you are, if you show honest interest in what the other person is telling you, you belong anywhere. 

Your education, or lack of, your limitations or your assets, they don't matter as much as knowing how to listen, empathize and truly connect with others. 

Your level of involvement in whatever situation you are put on is what makes the difference on how you are going to feel afterwards with yourself. 

The situation in itself was very rewarding for me. I learned to be ok with myself and to push out of my comfort zone. 

But, I also was reminded of something I didn't expect. I was reminded that we all have a choice on how we get to see life. We can either choose to see life with a positive outlook or with a negative outlook.

I realized this during one of the conversations I had with one of the attendees at this event.

A smaller group of people was having a conversation with the Minister and we were introducing ourselves to the group. 

When it was my turn, I shared that I did my Ph.D. at the University of New Orleans and that during my studies it was when Hurricane Katrina happened and that was how I ended up living in Houston. 

After I mentioned Hurricane Katrina, one of the attendees in our group started talking about all the horrible things that happened because of all the people that had to move to Houston after being displaced. She was talking about how the robberies increased, the crime went up and on and on about all the negative side of that event. 

It struck me as interesting because I was one of the “evacuees” that moved to Houston and for me, most of the memories of that period in my life are positive. 

Yes, it was a very stressful situation, we (my husband and I) lost everything we had, we had to relocate and we had to figure out how to continue with our lives after a major disruption. But, I remember all the people that were there to help us, even when they weren’t near by. 

There were people that fed us while we were stuck in hotels trying to see what do to next. We had friends that shared their company with us. We had friends that allowed us to live in their home until we figured out our next move. We had people giving us clothing. We had our families sending us whatever they could from out of the country. We had employers allowing us to stay in their company’s apartment. Even the sellers of our current home left for us their appliances, cutleries, chinaware, and some furniture as part of the house when we bought it!

We also experienced people that weren’t as nice, of course, but overall the goodness was way more abundant than the bad experiences. 

So, when I was listening to this person that didn't go personally through this big loss focusing only on all the negative experiences, well, it was quite interesting… 

It reminded me that we are responsible on how we choose to see life. 

You can focus on all the negative experiences and remember everything from that point of view. 

Or, you can focus on all the positive events and let those moments light up the whole experience. 

It’s all up to you. How you choose to see life is your decision. 

So, you see, one interesting invitation to an event and a whole lot of learning…

Now tell me, what have you learnt unexpectedly lately? Are you open to experience new things and get over your fears? How do you choose to see life? Are you focusing on the negative events, always finding fault about everything? Or, are you intentionally looking for the positive? How will you choose to see this New Year? Let me know below, I’d love to hear from you!

xoxo,

Sofia