I Did it Myself: Bi-Fold Doors, Dopamine & Experiential Learning

It has been said that satisfaction from participating in an activity or taking on a challenge is greater when one does something for him or herself.

As I type this with swollen hands and a knee that is giving me a twinge when I step on it the wrong way, I can attest to that. For the past month, my husband and I have been on a mission to renovate a rental property that we own. When I say we have been on a mission, I mean that we did it. No contractors. No workmen with tool belts. It was me with a crow bar and my husband with a nail gun. We gutted the bathroom and took up the floors. We refurbished the kitchen. We painted, sanded and filled every nail hole in the new casing that goes around every door and window. I now know how to use a heat gun, a cordless drill, a paint roller and a hammer with some proficiency. We had help on a few days from friends who offered to lend a hand, but for the most part we did it alone.

As we were reviewing our final punch list yesterday, we realized what a huge undertaking this has been and how much “easier” it would have been to pay someone else to do it. We could have outlined our plans to someone and then stood by or checked in to make sure that person did what we asked.

On the other hand, this “buzz” from a job well done is kind of cool.

The feeling of satisfaction from a job well done does not compare to the experience of watching someone else do it. More importantly, the credit for the success of our efforts is ours and ours alone.

Miriam-Webster’s dictionary defines vicarious as “experienced or felt by watching, hearing about, or reading about someone else rather than by doing something yourself.”

The benefits of doing something for and by oneself is a lesson that we try to instill in our children, our students and even with our employees.

Who can forget the excitement of a child who finally learns to tie his or her shoes without help from Mom or Dad. “Look Mom! I did it all by myself!” The feeling of accomplishment and pride was so much greater than in all those instances when someone else did it.

It’s all about the dopamine.

Dopamine is a chemical in our brain that historically has been linked to the pleasure reaction. Recent studies have suggested that dopamine’s impact on our reaction to stimulus as well as our motivation and how we take in information goes beyond pleasure. One study found that when introducing stimuli, the actual stimulus itself had less to do with dopamine production than did the timing or the parameters of the person’s expectations. The feel-good reaction came from the “novel” experience that sets one off the homeostasis (aka same old, same old) that we get used to.

Transferred to a do-it-yourself home repair, hanging bi-fold doors was not something that I had ever done or would have considered doing. With a little encouragement and even more trial and error, I found myself beaming when the doors were up, even, and could open and close without incident. I grabbed the drill, put the holes in the door and then put on the hardware. In my opinion, they are the best bi-fold closet doors in Centre County. I did it myself.

It is that feeling and that reaction that is resulting in the concept of experiential education – students finding the answers rather being told what they are – is having such great success. Students who are placed in a situation in which they have the ability to control the outcome and learn as they go can serve as both a motivator and as a means of greater satisfaction.

My colleagues at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, Penn State’s affiliate nature center, have this whole experiential learning thing figured out. One of the many experiential learning programs they offer every year is a program called Outdoor School. For 4-5 days, elementary students visit Shaver’s Creek and learn about the outdoors and nature by being in it. The student counselors and learning group leaders learn about teaching and leading by doing it. The benefits extend to both student and teacher. At the end of the week, the tears as the students leave show that the experience made a difference.

Universities are expanding this engaged learning component in both curricular and co-curricular activities because of the long reaching benefits of the do-it-yourself model. Internships and co-ops have been designed around hands-on learning for decades. Instructors of entry level through advanced courses are now being encouraged to include engaged learning in assignments and in the delivery of the course material because of the satisfaction and learning that takes place when we do it ourselves. The days of taking notes on lectures and then spitting them back on a test are (or should be) long over.

I’ve always been a “let me do it myself” person. The satisfaction of doing rather than having it be done for me has been a driving force in many of my life decisions including that to work outside the home. My personal decision was that I wanted to make a contribution on my own, rather than live vicariously through my husband. Others find satisfaction in seeing their contributions through the lens of “the team” or family. Anthropologists understand that those who contribute to the group or family are often more empowered than in those societies than the people (especially women) do not contribute.

I suspect that the swelling in my hands will go and the bruise on my knee will go away as we turn the keys over to our new tenants. I know that the satisfaction that I get when we drive by or when we look at the pictures of our newly renovated property will remain much longer.