Day 17: Why Experiments Are Badass 

When I was in college, I spent three summers in a row running experiments on yeast. Some of you are probably thinking, “Wow. That sounds… riveting…” It’s true that yeast genetics isn’t the sexiest thing in the world, but I actually had a great time. 

One of the most valuable lessons I learned from my phenomenal research mentor is that you have to be invested in the process, not the results. What do I mean by that?

In science when we run experiments, we don’t know what the outcome is going to be. That’s why we’re experimenting, right? But we make a hypothesis (or educated guess) about what we think might happen. 

Having a hypothesis is important because it helps us to plan the experiment and decide what kinds of tests to run and how to measure our results. But we have to be careful not to be committed to the outcome of that hypothesis.

If we are too attached to the hypothesis we’ve made, it’s like putting blinders on. We now have these massive blind spots that prevent us from the true nature of the experiment we’re running. We might miss some important trends in the data that we have.

So if getting too attached to the possible outcome causes blind spots, what do we focus on? We focus on how we run the experiment. This is where we get to be creative.

We try a few things, and then measure the results. Then we try something different, and see if we get different results. Sometimes we even try the same thing more than once to see if we get the same results or if we get something different. 

To some this may sound tedious, but it’s actually fun! When you let your curiosity be your guide, it can lead to spectacular results. But if you start an experiment with the belief that you will be right about something instead of being open to the process, you will miss out on some amazing discoveries.

Ok, Dr. Jess. What does this have to do with the rest of us who are not in the lab with bunsen burners and beakers? Why should we care about your ramblings about the scientific method?

These same concepts apply directly to our life. When we hold tightly to our beliefs without being open and curious, we shut down any chance of amazing, unexpected things happening. But when we are committed to the process of exploring life without pretending to know what will happen, we will be blown away again and again by the wonder of life.

Let me use myself as an example. Here I am trying to build an audience around learning to love all your parts, right? But I’ve feeling stupid about the fact that each day only like three people read these posts and a handful of people see my social media content. 

The problem with that is I’m too attached to the outcome: having a big audience so I can share this stuff I’m excited about. But that’s totally out of my control, isn’t it? And focusing on that outcome actually makes me less likely to keep going.

Instead, I need to put on my goggles and have fun experimenting with the way I deliver my content. I can look at the data and see what works and what doesn’t, instead of judging myself for not having exciting results. Being committed to the process and remembering why I’m doing it in the first place (to share content about learning how to love yourself) is going to keep me going.

What about you? Is there an area in your life where you’ve been too attached to the outcome? What would it look like if you reframed it as an exciting experiment to run instead?