I did not grow up with computers. I didn’t even take keyboarding in high school. The first paper I ever wrote on a computer was in my Master’s degree program at WVU. I was visiting my sister and used her IBM. In those days, PCs had less memory than I seem to have these days. You had to load a floppy disc with the operating program (e.g., Word), along with a disc to save your work. It was basically a fancy typewriter. I remember having to leave room for the figures in my paper and insert these by cutting a copy to size, taping them in place with Scotch tape, and photocopying the page. Today? Well, of course, the reader knows the power our Macs and PCs pack.
So, basically, I have been spending my adult years learning computers. My skill is still surpassed by my 11-year-old (and, perhaps, my 9-year-old, as well), but I am progressing.
In my research, low budgets and necessity have led me (with many thanks to my Finnish friend and colleague, Frank Borg) to an open source software, R (www.r-project.com). This has been a tremendous tool for me in my lab, as it allows me the capacity to analyze a variety of data, make plots, and run statistics. It can do much more, if I only had the time to explore. It has been a slow process for me. I learn every time I open the program. I have gone from newbie to beginner in just six years.
Reflecting on my struggles with R, I have (of course) begun to see the parallels with my own growth and pursuit of “well-centeredness”. It has been a slow and steady process. Frank gave me the basic starting code. I have several books (that read like Greek to me) on R, and I have access to an infinite amount of information (if I know where to look) on the Internet.
At first my code was clunky and bulky. I lacked understanding of loops and the advanced coding that would streamline my analyses. I would run data a step at a time; a participant at a time; a variable at a time. It was slow and frustrating, but I persisted. Slowly steps made better sense, I found other packages within R that made the handling and processing of data easier and faster. I am learning loops and how to write code to handle great amounts of data more quickly. I am still using dozens of lines of code for what I am sure can be done in just a few, but I am making baby steps of progress.
This is not unlike life. If we desire to learn and to grow, it takes time. It takes effort. More often than not, it takes a lot of trial and error to get to the point where we learn that there is yet another—better—way. I am investing time learning so, in the future, it will be easier.
Well-centered fitness—Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social well-being—is no different. We are (hopefully) constantly moving toward perfection. We cannot stay fixed in our ways. This is never to say that there is anything wrong with who or where we are. We are all, after all, on our own personal path. This is to say that there is always a better us, if we choose to keep moving forward. We need to put in the effort.
I have much to learn with regards to R. Presently, I am struggling with writing a loop that will permit me to print a batch of plots in a few lines of code. I will figure it out, in time.
In the same way, I am figuring out life. Faith, family, friends, growth, health, and impacting others are my core values. Daily, I strive to be more perfect in these. Like programming, the more I grow and learn, the more I see the need to grow and learn more. I am left to rely on practice and the help of others.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
Carpe moment