Find your zest: making “room” for career, family, community and self
We each have our own reason for becoming an engineer*:
- “I was enamored with the solar collectors my dad built in our front yard in the 1980s to help heat our house.” -- Heidi
- “Engineering to me is problem solving and teamwork.” -- Sara
- “To be a good engineer is to know how to do things -- Simon
- “I was determined to show that women can be great engineers.” -- Iris
We can fulfill ourselves and meet society’s needs as engineers, but there is more to life than work. My minister used to say, “What words do you want on your tombstone or your obituary?”
If you put everything into your work, then your résumé will be your tombstone.
So what I’ve tried to do is put as much of my zest – that which measures one’s whole substance of life –into my family, to my work, and to my community, while still making room for myself.
What is your passion? Find and follow your zest. Work hard, but balance your life. Do well and do good. Do good for your family. Do good for your company. Do good for your profession. Do good for the community. Do good for society. Make room for yourself, but remember you are part of something larger. Your life is yours to build, so create rooms to be a home for your zest.