Şimal Dölek | Student Success Series
By: Şimal Dölek
This blog has been reviewed by Alexander Korski and Hannah Thorne; edited, formatted and published by Nicholas Murray.
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Şimal, tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Şimal, but I dissociated from my name a while ago. I was born and raised in Ankara, Turkey’s vibrant capital. At fourteen, a realization came to me — an inner recognition of untapped potential. However, terrorism and sexism were taking hold at the time in my homeland, casting a shadow over my dreams. I secretly registered for an exchange program, hiding all the assessments and interviews from my unsuspecting parents. When the acceptance letter finally arrived and I admitted what I had done, they were furious. “You are too young! You have never been abroad! It’s not safe. Forget about going on an exchange year in Canada!”, said my parents.
Yet, five months later, I soared above the Atlantic, bound for Saint John, New Brunswick. Life was so much better in this country! There was only one problem though — no one could pronounce my name…. And so, Şimal became a distant memory.
Currently, I am in the last year of my studies at Dalhousie University where I am completing an honours in neuroscience, a minor in statistics as well as a certificate program in data analytics. I work at a psychiatry lab as a data analyst and volunteer at a cognitive neuroscience lab as an undergraduate researcher where I investigate the neurological pathways of the brain’s attention system. In my free time, I read books, dance, skateboard, paint, DJ, model, rock climb and look after my cat, Neuro. If you’re wondering how my parents let me stay in Canada, tune in and find out how I accomplished my goals!
What do you think made you successful as a student?
What is success, if not the mere tally of a GPA above the arbitrary threshold of 3.8? Is it but a game of comparisons, where one tries to surpass their peers in a pursuit of superiority?
According to Google, success is “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose”. If this question is asking me how I reached my goals, the answer is easy: I haven’t reached my goals yet, at least not all of them. Life is all about reaching the peak of one mountain just to realize that you’re at the bottom of another. It’s constant goal setting and striving where you chronically question your ability to reach the next peak. I have a few rules for this “set-strive” cycle of goals.
- When I start a course, I do not only study the material, but the professor as well.
Recall the Constructivist Theory of Perception. This theory posits that each person’s perception of the world is actively constructed based on their unique set of prior knowledge, experiences, beliefs, and expectations. Thus, a “good” paper you think you wrote for a class may be perceived as “mediocre” by your professor. I try to get to know what my professor values and rewards and pay a lot of attention to their feedback. I almost get into my professors’ dictionary of success, find what corresponds to an “A+”, and strive to become that. Keep in mind, what one professor thinks is an A+ paper may not be the same as that of another!
- I don’t trust my judgments of learning. Instead, I use the Crystal Ball method.
Judgments of Learning (JOL) involve making predictions about future memory performance. It’s seen in previous research that JOLs are usually inaccurate.¹ Have you ever felt ready for an exam but ended up performing poorly? Well, that can be explained by the Monitoring Retrieval Hypothesis: when we make a JOL soon after studying, the knowledge is still in our working memory. The robust fresh trace of the memory may cause us to think the information is in our long-term memory, even though it is not. Therefore, soon after studying, if I feel ready for an exam, I imagine a Crystal Ball telling me that it’s not true. The crystal ball is so magical that it knows things that I don’t, so I can’t ignore it, right?
- If I have limited time to study for an exam, I start by studying the easiest items first, then move on to more complex ones.
Have you ever heard of the Labour in Vain Effect? Labor in Vain Effect refers to a cognitive bias in which individuals continue to invest time, effort, or resources into a project, even when the costs outweigh the potential benefits. In the context of memory research, it refers to the tendency to focus one’s study time on difficult items with low JOLs. In this case, I would just waste my time trying to understand an excessively difficult concept, with little gain for all the time spent. Hence, I try to study the items that are just outside of my grasp first, then move on to the more difficult ones!
What strength, skill, strategy, mindset, or habit allowed you to get where you are today?
Firstly, I try not to compare myself with others. Everyone is coming from different backgrounds, and remember, what makes you different or weird is your strength! Thus, I resist the urge to measure myself against Jack from my classroom or Jenna from my yoga class. Instead, I try to be my own competition and strive to be better than my version of yesterday. This strategy allows me to have a better relationship with myself and be more compassionate.
Secondly, I get creative! We don’t have to follow everyone else’s path to success and go by the book. During my childhood I couldn’t relate to any of my peers; they were never interested in what I had to say, which led to me feeling so isolated and lonely. I don’t have any siblings either, and my parents were always working. After a while, I decided to get creative with my boredom and started writing a fictional book on an online platform. In 5th grade, I had over 134K readers. I couldn’t believe so many people were interested in what I wrote at such a young age! All that time I thought I was an outcast that no one would like. If only I knew I was striving for the peak of Maslow’s pyramid. So, dare to imagine because the world is your playground!
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” — Albert Einstein
Lastly, I make A LOT of to-do lists. Specifically, I have 3 types of to-do lists: 1) my general goals for the next three months, 2) my weekly goals, and 3) my daily tasks. Moreover, right before I go to sleep, I imagine myself completing all the tasks on my to-do list for the next day. This strategy allows me to take advantage of sleep-dependent memory consolidation. Therefore, when I wake up the next morning, I already know what I need to accomplish first, so I don’t waste any time before starting my day! Remember, if you don’t plan, you plan to fail.
How would you invite other students to cultivate those qualities?
At the age of ten, an epiphany washed over me, revealing life’s purpose. It was a revelation so beautifully simple: adding meaning to one’s existence. Similarly, I recommend students attach meaning to each one of your goals. For instance, ask yourself why you want to get a GPA higher than a certain amount, or why you want to learn Python. Importantly, make sure that the reason behind your “meanings” comes from intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation refers to engaging in an activity for the inherent satisfaction, enjoyment, or interest it brings. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, involves engaging in an activity primarily to attain external rewards or avoid punishment. For instance, a person who wants to become a physician to be rich (money = extrinsic) would struggle so much more than a person who is inspired to become a doctor based on personal experiences with illness, either their own or that of a loved one (empathy = intrinsic). Indeed, previous research suggests that intrinsic motivation is often associated with greater creativity, persistence, and overall satisfaction in activities.² Personally, I work hard so my cat, Neuro, lives a better life!
Any last words you’d like to share with fellow students?
I have this one last piece of advice which may be a bit controversial. When I don’t have any motivation to get up and strive for my goals, I turn my gaze toward the enigma of mortality. Death, a natural companion on life’s stage, touches all living beings, an undeniable fate we each embrace. In this embrace lies a profound revelation — a reminder of the finite nature of our existence.
“Death is not the enemy of life but its friend, for it is the knowledge that our years are limited which makes them so precious.” — Marie Curie
Thank you for taking the time to read this post! Feel free to add me on LinkedIn if you’d like to talk. Please also take the time to check out the Student Ambassador Program of the Canadian Positive Psychology Association so you can join our community and learn more about Positive Psychology!
References:
- Rhodes, M. G., & Tauber, S. K. (2011). Monitoring memory errors: The influence of the veracity of retrieved information on the accuracy of judgements of learning. Memory (Hove), 19(8), 853–870. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2011.613841
- Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2002). Handbook of self-determination research. University of Rochester Press.