So this year, I took Organic Chemistry, and if there’s one fundamental concept or takeaway that I got from the class, it’s the importance of Reaction Coordinate Diagrams. For those who are unfamiliar, here’s a pic:

Basically, for any reactant to react, it has to have a certain activation energy. Usually, this activation energy comes in the form of heat or radiation. With enough energy, it overcomes the hump and usually goes to a lower energy state. That’s how catalysts work: by turning a single reaction into a multi-step reaction, lowering that activation energy hump so things move along faster. Finally, the energy difference between start and end ties into spontaneity – the more energy the chemicals lose, the more theoretically favorable the reaction is.

Now that you have a basic understanding of this, what does this have to do with life at all?

I have mastered the art of lying in bed and doing nothing, sometimes for hours at a time. And when my mom catches me in these ruts, she yells at me saying if she weren’t around I would literally get nothing done. I’d never say it to her face, but she was right, at least until I got to high school. But that’s besides the point. Clearly, the chemicals I play around with in the lab and I are similar: we’re trying to get to the lowest energy state.

So how do you get to the lowest energy state?

Well easy, you need some activation energy. Some motivation, some fire under your butt to make yourself move. But motivation comes and goes. It’s hard to motivate yourself at times. Maybe, sometimes, you’ll need a catalyst to lower the activation energy! And what is a catalyst? It can’t be your mom forever. Trust me, it’s easier on her too. Rather, the key is shaping your environment. Put your chemicals on a hot plate, and they’ll hop to it themselves. Likewise, put me in front of my keyboard, and my fingers will have to type something, even if it’s hot garbage. It’s so much easier to start an assignment once I open the Google Doc. I mean, once you’ve dragged yourself to the gym, you might as well exercise before you have to walk back to your dorm.

Catalyze your life. Twenty smaller humps is way easier than one big heap of activation energy. Sometimes, I fret about the sheer scope of the assignment. And when I fret, I want to bury my head in the sand. I want to watch YouTube and forget about the task at hand. But then, I tell myself, hey, forget all of that. Your only task right now is to sit at your desk. I grumble a bit, but at least it’s something quick. And so I sit at my desk. Then, hey, you see those USBs and HDMI cables? Just plug em in. Before I know it, my paper is done. And at the end of the day, I get to trick myself into thinking that I’m saving energy. Make cognitive dissonance work for you! Lazy people for the win!

So, thank you Mr. Faulk. I may not be a “varsity chemist” yet, but even “JV chemistry” has served me well.