"Action Leads to Motivation, Not the Other Way Around" - Dean Bokhari

Welcome back, and Happy New Year!!!

We're excited to have you back on campus and have some exciting new opportunities to share with you.

We're introducing a new program called "Holidays Around the World."  We'll celebrate three international holidays a semester.  Join us to learn something new and sample food from around the globe.  Email me at rhaan@purdue.edu if you'd like to see a special holiday represented.

• Our first celebration will be on February 1st.  Join us at the AAARCC from 3-5 pm as we ring in the Lunar New Year.  Dr. Wei Qiu will teach us how to make dumplings that we get to sample and will share with us traditions about this holiday.  
• SAVE THE DATE!  April 7th and 8th will be our annual Shah Lab I2D EXPO.  Be on the lookout for information about participating in the poster session and for a list of our speakers.
• We're recruiting GEPP Ambassadors.  Be a part of this amazing group of students.  Represent us at campus events and earn money towards a study abroad program or a professional development event.  No study abroad experience needed.

I read something recently that made me have the most productive weekend ever.  We all make resolutions to do something better or be better and hope that the turning of the year will provide us with the motivation to follow through. 

People often wait for motivation to kick in and think it looks something like this...

Motivation --> Action --> Results

When it actually looks like this...

Action --> Results --> Motivation

Motivation is fleeting and comes and goes on a whim.  However, taking small actions and seeing the results can motivate us to keep moving forward.

I'm sure I've heard of this concept before, but this time, when I read it, it struck a chord.  I was able to take a lot of small actions this weekend and wiped out much of my to-do list, and still had time to binge nine episodes of the Manga series Erased with my son.  So, an excellent start to a new year!

You can read more about this concept here, although I got a slightly different version from a newsletter that I subscribe to from this site, but the article isn't linkable.  Try it out and see if it works for you.

Have a great semester!  As always, reach out if you need to rhaan@purdue.edu

Photo Credit:  waterandwine

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