Personal growth doesn't necessarily only happen when the conditions are perfect. Seeds tend to develop only when conditions are right. A seed will remain dormant (休眠) until moisture (湿度) and temperature are favorable for growth. Unfortunately, as humans, we don't always have the luxury of growing when conditions are just right. Sometimes you must cultivate (促进) personal growth and flower where you're planted, often in spite of external (外部的) circumstances.

For much of my life, I let external circumstances control my happiness. If things weren't going well, then I wasn't well. I told myself that I would be happier if conditions were right. With this mindset, I gave myself permission to stay emotionally dormant. I was waiting for things around me to change before I would do the work to become a better version of myself. In other words, I made my personal growth conditional on external circumstances.

The problem with waiting for change outside of yourself is that you might have to wait a very long time, maybe even forever. And if you stay dormant while waiting, you aren't growing. You're simply stuck in place. You certainly aren't becoming the better version of yourself that you want to be.

If you want to engage in personal growth, like planting seeds, you have to do some work to make it happen. You can't wait around for everything to fall into place. Start with pulling up your emotional weeds. Examine yourself and remove the pessimistic thoughts and behaviors that are holding you back. Then, work on the foundation that you have. Practice positive life habits that build your self-respect and happiness.

Personal growth is something you can fight for. It may not come naturally, but when you develop this mindset, you will flower no matter where you're planted.

Andrew Grey doesn't fit most people's idea of an astronomer. He works in a car repair shop, not in a lab or university, yet the Australian repairman discovered a star system hiding in data from NASA's Kepler space 26 telescope.

Mr. Grey is one of millions of citizen scientists helping researchers to expand collective understanding. For centuries, only a few ordinary people had been contributing to science, but advances in technology have brought a higher level of democratization (民主化) to science.

"This is a collaborative (合作的) effort that anyone could get involved in," says Chris Lincoln, an Oxford University astrophysicist (天体物理学家) and cofounder of Zooniverse, a platform that hosts dozens of citizen science projects. Citizen scientists can contribute to breakthroughs in almost any field, from ecology to astrophysics.

"As long as pattern recognition is involved, there are no limits to what can become a citizen science project," Dr. Linton says. "Anyone can identify patterns in images, graphs, or even seemingly boring data after a short tutorial. Machine learning allows computers to do some pattern recognition. But humans, particularly amateur scientists, don't stay focused on what they're supposed to. And that's good, because people who do that notice the unusual things in s data set.

"And citizen science doesn't have to be directed by a scientist," says Sheila Jasanoff, director of the Program on Science, Technology and Society at Harvard University. "Citizens producing knowledge in places where official organs have failed then can also be citizen scientists," she says. That's what happened in Flint, Michigan, when a local mother started drinking water tests that caused a broader investigation of lead levels.

Citizen-powered research is as old as scientific inquiry. For centuries before science became professionalized, regular people looked for patterns in the world around them. Despite a lot of advanced equipment and computer models, scientists still welcome help from everyday people.

As a professional scientist himself, Lintott says, "People think that were intelligent, but science is easy and we need your help."

2022 Kids News Short Story Writing Competition

Welcome to the 2022 Kids News Short Story Writing Competition! It is an annual competition which starts at 9 am on Monday, September 5. If you have a creative mind and fantastic stories, hurry up and submit your story before October 28.

The competition is free and open to students from kindergarten to Grade 9. The competition has two age groups. For kids aged 11 years and over, their short story must be between 500 and 1, 000 words. For those aged 10 and under, their short story must be between 250 and 500 words. You are supposed to write a short story on any theme or topic of your choice.

The first prize winner of each age group will get 10 copies of their short story, which are published into a printed book with a personally designed cover, plus an iPad. There is also a book reader as a prize for the runner-up (亚军) and a HarperCollins book pack for the third winner in each age group.

Teachers can submit their students' stories through the online entry form (参赛表格). A consent form (同意书), signed by the student's parent or guardian, must be attached to the entry form.

Unless advertised differently, the prize winners will be informed by phone, email or mail at the end of the competition period and by no later than December 30. Winners' names will be published on www. kidsnews.com.au.