“Necessity is the mother of invention,” goes an old proverb. As we are entering the last week of this fiscal year, the future feels more uncertain than I can remember. While I keep telling myself that the future is never as bright as we hope nor as dark as we fear, like all of us in the space industry, I feel the burden of uncertainty. What do I know with a least some certainty? I know that the Earth will continue to turn. I know that the Sun will rise tomorrow. And I know that we will need to change. 

We will need to change how we work because new tools are becoming available and because the environment we are working in is changing. Some, perhaps many, of us will have to change what we do. Either because we are choosing a new path or because a choice is made for us. Sooner or later, we all have to adjust to the world around us. We often imagine that the change is easier to make, if we chose it. Though that may be a difference in degree, not in quality. The work is the same and it is hard. 

Usually we feel that there’s a large problem and we have to fix it. The instruction is to stop. Do something unfamiliar. Do anything besides rushing off in the same old direction, up to the same old tricks.

Pema Chödrön

Psychologists use the term “agency” to describe the experience of an individual to influence the direction of their life. The degree of agency that we experience varies greatly through our career. You would guess that it would be greatest “in our prime,” when we are successful at work, busy growing families, and surrounded by friends. Though this is also usually the time when the demands on us are large and so much appears to be at stake. As a result, many of us do not experience this time as a period of agency and stumble into the classic mid-life crisis. 

So here is my definition of agency. I experience agency when I am deeply and passionately engaged in my work and relationships. When I recognize and treasure what I have to offer and what I receive in return. It is when I know that I have chosen this path for myself. That I continue to chose this path and that I have the power to make a different choice. There is a cost to making a different choice, and there is a cost to continuing where I am. Neither is free. 

What I don’t like about the proverb from the beginning is that it can be read as if  necessity causes invention. Nothing could be further from the truth. Unanswered need alone only cause misery. To continue to thrive in the face of emerging needs we have to change for a chance to find new strengths and new path to thrive. Luckily, almost everyone us who were lucky to have a career in aerospace have many talents and skills that we can apply to a wide range of problem solving. Most of us have enjoyed an incredible, privileged life surrounded by bright and dedicated colleagues and have reaped the the benefits of education and experience. I know I have. 

I hope to continue to solve hard problems. I want to continue to motivate colleagues to reach higher. I want to continue to enjoy this ride we are all on. I know there will be plenty of time later to look back. Today I want to look forward no mater how little I know about tomorrow. One of my favorite Buddhist teachers, Pema Chödrön, gave these meditation instructions for a great start into each day: “I wonder what might happen today.”

Today, I want to embrace this sense of wonder and the fact that I don’t know where the next week, the next month and years will take us. The future will take time to unfold, as it always has. I want to use this time to invent new ways of being in this world. I want to use this time to invent new ways of making a difference. I hope you will too.