By Abel Khoo | UNI.CORN, Team 1

Dealing with Disappointment

June 14, 2016

A harsh reality of the working world – Is your spirit strong enough?

Since we started the UNI.CORN programme, we’ve had to learn to adapt to multiple changes. What I eventually realised was how this could also be a discouraging experience. As interns, we came in bright eyed, ready to change the world with our enthusiasm and brilliant ideas. But after five weeks we still didn’t have a solid direction.

It seemed as if every opportunity turned out to be a closed door. Idea after idea, we were gently turned down but turned down nonetheless. By the beginning of week 5, when we didn’t get the response we were looking for with regards to our latest idea, team morale was at an all-time low. Coupled with surprise visits from the “boss” and looming deadlines. We had to soldier on, cheering each other on reminding each other why we were doing this internship.

We felt as if we were four weeks behind the rest of the teams. Many of us felt as if the past five weeks of work were wasted. Even with a new direction to head down, we lacked the motivation to continue. We were tired, worn out and truth be told- jaded. Every idea we’ve had was turned down, why would this one turn out any different?

Overcoming despair

Nevertheless, we knew the task to be done, the deadlines to meet, and on a Tuesday afternoon we agreed to give this everything we got. We agreed to power through the rest week and see where we were by Friday.

Wednesday- in a single day, we conducted 20+ interviews between the four of us. Though not as chirpy as we were in the first couple of weeks, we were seasoned with experience, we had learnt so much from the past four weeks and managed to land the insights we so desperately required.

In the subsequent two days, we locked ourselves in a room with markers and wrung our brains dry, ideating and somehow, someway we find ourselves with the concept posters we had to complete.

What had we done?!?! Did we just cram the work of four weeks into 4 days?! Looking back, YES WE DID! What it showed me was how much we’ve learnt over the past four to five weeks, we had internalised what we’ve been taught and shown and now it was as if it was second nature to all of us. Could any of us have done this alone? NO, a thousand times no, but as a team when we had each other’s back. We showed ourselves how much we can do together.

The biggest take away from this week was how to deal with disappointment:

TEAM, with a team, we encourage, we push each other, we cover for each other and the satisfaction of working with an amazing team is far greater than any pain of disappointment.

We aren’t the perfect team but we are greater than the sum of our parts.

#AQ     #KEEPMOVINGFORWARD

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