My Family Rocks The World.

If anyone thinks Roman from “Na Wspólnej” is an oddball, they should take a peek at the Bielczyk family. Every time I go home for Christmas, there’s a surprise waiting, but this time, it’s beyond expectation. My sister just clinched second place in the UK academic fencing championship and got her first paper published in Nature Genetics.

My father is still doing a fantastic job coaching young chess players. And the best part? My mother has started studying at New York University.

She kept it under wraps, feeling embarrassed about spending five thousand dollars on tuition. 

Back in the day, my aunt joined the University of the Third Age in Katowice at the same age. And I thought that was bold. But my mother is in a league of her own.

She even said she wouldn’t mind becoming CEO of General Electric, and at this point, nothing would surprise me. It’s a wake-up call; I can’t afford to sit back and reflect while my family is conquering the world. According to Bandura (1997), observing similar others succeed at a difficult goal raises the observer’s own sense of self-efficacy and motivates them to pursue similarly ambitious goals.

Whose Biography Am I Reading Right Now?

When I need some inspiration, biographies of achievers always do the trick. They don’t have to be intellectuals. Recently, I picked up Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s biography entitled “The Total Recall.” Critics have spoken highly of the book.

A few chapters in, it’s clear he’s not a sentimental guy, yet his words struck a chord. He had a specific and personal goal — dominate bodybuilding, conquer Hollywood, become a top-notch actor.

He had this vision as a teen and pursued it unwaveringly. According to Locke and Latham (2002), published in American Psychologist, specific and challenging goals pursued with unwavering commitment consistently lead to higher performance than vague or easy goals.

What Is My Problem With Goal Setting?

My issue is that my aspirations often entangle with others’ goals, making me dependent on them and fate’s whims. It might be smarter to find an ambition that’s entirely my own, with the rest naturally following. I’m working on it, but it’ll take time.

I have ideas, some wild, some blurry and undeveloped. Not many are lucky enough to stumble upon their life’s passion in their teens. But I’m way closer than when I was writing my MA thesis in Warsaw, that’s for sure.

By the way, I find Arnold’s biography much more relatable than Steve Jobs’s, which I found tough to digest. Genius minds tend to overanalyze their past, and it ends up in some grandiose Newspeak. Can’t say I’m a fan.

Speaking of my age, when I was younger, I always wished to be between 25 and 30 (by the way, according to research, 28 is the “perfect age”). Quite different from my pals who yearned for 16-17. I thought that age meant you’re young but also mature and independent, and it must be enjoyable.

Well, it is enjoyable and not at all wasted: contemplating your journey. In some ways, I feel like I’m 17 again — especially when sneaking vodka past my parents. Ah, home sweet home.

And about the snowy Easter weather, I defied my injured foot and hiked up the mountains. I realized that day that what we envision in our minds heavily influences our actions. According to Feltz and Landers (1983), a classic meta-analysis of dozens of studies found that mentally rehearsing a task measurably improves performance on it, not just mood.

How Did My Own Writing Mirror My Life?

I recently penned an article on cognitive disease modeling. And it just dawned on me that what I wrote aligns eerily well with my experiences during tough times. 

When my former boss was harsh, making job hunting tough, when my fiancé vanished out of the blue, when my energy plummeted, I’d visualize standing tall in the stunning mountains. Now, as I read my own manuscript from that time, I see I wrote an article about… mountains.

The analogy is crystal clear. I’ll elaborate when the article gets published, but for now, work rules keep me from delving into the details :)