Curiosity Tank

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Boost yourself — and someone else — into 2022!

michele ronsen

2021 is almost done — how are you celebrating your year?

You might remember my end-of-2020 “pinky promise” with a colleague to celebrate our own wins each and every year. This year, we’re doing it again, AND have hatched a plan to boost someone else by writing a LinkedIn recommendation for them!

Most of us don’t celebrate (or even recognize) our accomplishments as much as we should. We're taught to be modest. Praising ourselves is unnatural and awkward (especially in UX!) But the effort is totally worth it!

This doesn’t take long, and it makes you feel like a rockstar (which we all know you are!) More importantly, it will help you focus your intentions for the upcoming year, and help a colleague along the way!

Want to join us? Here’s how it’s done:

Step One: Boost a client, colleague, employee or friend on LinkedIn

If you’re the humble type, it’s easier to recognize amazing-ness in someone else. So dive into the LinkedIn recommendation first, and get the praise flowing! Who helped with your key project, taught you something new, came through in a pinch? Whose professional growth or hard work inspired you? Keep your recommendation brief and specific so readers know it’s genuine. Your words just might help another rockstar land that next job, promotion or client!

Step Two: Take Stock Of Your Own Awesome


This starts out as the ‘hard part,” but soon becomes the fun part — promise!

1. Find a friend/cheerleader to work with either IRL or over Zoom. Tooting your own horn may not feel natural, so recruit some extra support. You can keep each other accountable, both for finishing your lists AND for not dismissing your own accomplishments!

2. Do a brain dump of the kudos you’ve received, projects completed, things you’ve learned and how you’ve grown. (The kinds of great things or traits you mentioned in your LinkedIn recommendation for someone else!) If you need a memory jog, check sent and received emails, your social media feeds, and your calendar. Ask your colleagues, clients and others. All ideas are worthy!

3. Make a 2021 monthly chart (see example below).

4. Populate your chart with at least one thing that you created, accomplished, learned or were recognized for each month. If you don’t know where to put something, add it at the bottom! If you get stuck, put down a silly or aspirational place holder and come back to it later.

5. Edit, save and/or share your list. Make your list “real” by sharing! If you’re feeling nervous or shy, you may just want to share with your accountability partner / pinky-promise-buddy at first. Or, be bold and share it with your professional world on LInkedIn. Believe it or not, it can be genuinely uplifting and inspiring to your colleagues to see YOUR accomplishments.

BONUS: Review your list when you need a boost!

Step Three: Set Intentions Instead of Goals

A University of Scranton study found that a paltry 8% of us actually keep our New Year’s resolutions. That’s right. 92% report never meeting the goals they set. People have more success by visualizing where they would like to be or what they’d like to achieve, validating that these intentions are ambitious, yet achievable.

Step Four: Say Thank You!

Starting your day with gratitude is a known motivator. Whether you list things you are thankful for, write a quick note or send a text, start your day by giving thanks. I do it with my daughter now and it's so powerful!

Despite some parts of 2021 feeling a bit more “2020” than we’d hoped, Curiosity Tank and the Ask Like A Pro program have grown beyond my expectations this year. I definitely didn’t do it alone! Many people and organizations supported me and helped make lemons out of lemonade!

Giant thanks to:

  • Current and former Curiosity Tank Ask Like A Pro participants. You fuel the fire!!

  • My Curiosity Tank team! Samantha, Jen, Aly, Heather, and Dana. We are better together!!

  • Our 2021 Project Sponsors: UsabilityHub, Reduct, and Team.ai. You are the best!!!

  • My A-list consulting clients. Thank youuuuuuuu!

  • And of course, my rocks (you know who you are!)

Show & Tell!

Since it’s my goal to lift you up and inspire you to ask better questions, I challenge you to do this celebratory activity too. Here, the “ask” starts from within YOU.

Below is the template we used last year, with some of my professional “wins” this year on the left and room for you to fill in your own accolades on the right. You'll need more room. This is just to set the context.

In case you missed, or want to revisit anything I mention below, I’ve added links.

See this content in the original post

Notes & Other Professional Milestones

Inspired, informed, and expanded reach with:

  • 24 Fuel Your Curiosity newsletters (nearly double YOY!)

  • 10 Alumni Digest newsletters

  • 16 webinars and podcasts + three fundraisers

  • 27,259 unique visitors to curiositytank.com

  • 92,985 curiositytank.com page views (mind blown!)

  • 40,978 new website sessions (holy what!)

  • Site visitors from 168 countries (whoa?!)

  • Workshop participants from 16 countries: Australia, Canada, Egypt, England, Greece, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Poland, United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Vietnam.

Now it’s YOUR turn.

Celebrate your wins, share your intentions and give thanks!

This is where you, your beautiful mind, and your unique perspective come in. This is where #UXisateamsport comes in. This is why stakeholder involvement is paramount.

You deserve it! Celebrate all that you accomplished this year. DO IT. It feels great and sets the stage for 2022.

When I put something out there and take the time to actually write it down, it becomes more concrete. So hit “reply” and celebrate yourself by writing back to me with one win, or career, or research intention for the new year.

Or, just drop a note to say “hello,” tell me where you are from (I am amazed and humbled that people from 168 countries have visited CuriosityTank.com!) What is your biggest research challenge? How can I help?

Speak up, get involved, share the love

Thank you all for supporting Curiosity Tank in 2021! That’s a wrap!

We try to alternate between a theme and UX/UXR jobs, events, classes, articles, and other happenings every few weeks. What do you think? We're constantly iterating and would love to hear your input.

Stay curious,
- Michele and the Curiosity Tank team

PS.: The next Ask Like A Pro Workshop series starts in February. We’re only offering two public cohorts this year, so click here for details and to grab your spot!

PPS. Don't forget to write a quick note or send a text to thank those who have supported you along your journey. Do it NOW! It feels great and will brighten someone's day ;)