I was humbled by the intelligent TU/e community but confidently relied on my experience, making me quite self-directed at the beginning of the master’s program. Then, I was confronted with making insufficiently grounded claims, reflecting a lack of critical thinking skills (M1.2). Therefore, I will continue experimenting with concrete, validated, creative, and evaluative methods to confidently take the lead in driving innovative projects.
Additionally, I learned that overly ambitious objectives and boundless
curiosity can compromise constructive processes (M2.1). Without proper process management to set realistic goals, I easily get lost in complexity, limiting my achievements and productivity. I do not believe I could or want to become less ambitious or curious. However, I should prioritize proposal writing more and assume a conservative approach to planning my projects. Key takeaways are dividing my work into tangible sub-goals, allocating time for contemplation, having others peer review my proposals, and continuously reviewing my planning and goals to forecast potential risks.
For others, these might be obvious, but having ADHD they have always been a significant challenge. Therefore, growing and mastering these skills has been a major personal achievement. Despite improvements, critical thinking and process management require future attention. Therefore, I have decided to slow my pursuit of professional independence to rebuild my confidence as part of a team.
Reviews from my FMP colleagues helped me regain some confidence, highlighting I was experienced as structured, diligent, creative, dedicated, knowledgeable, strategic, and good at communicating complex ideas. Additionally, it is comforting they found it pleasant to collaborate with me. (van Maanen, van de Laar, & Rangel, 2024)
New Identity
Now, I identify as a more humble and conservative strategic design engineer who aspires to initiate and drive innovative projects to create a positive impact based on intrinsic values. Firstly, I will gradually
learn by working with others to grow my independence. By continuously improving the approaches and processes I use and focusing on leadership skills, I aim to become thus established that I can inspire
others and lead a team of creatives. Depending on the growth of my organizational skills, I would like to take up freelance work to grow my sense of independence.
Reference
van Maanen, N., van de Laar, M., & Rangel, R. (2024, June). Recommendations.
Retrieved from LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/
in/joris-raaphorst/details/recommendations/