The glass-half-full way to end your school year
Let's celebrate the wins instead of remembering the losses
Academics are notoriously harsh on themselves. Most of us were A+ students in high school and undergrad, and we spent much of our graduate school and early faculty years feeling as if we had lost our ability to be exceptionally good at scholarly work.
If this resonates, I also suggest that you read this post to figure out how to go a little bit easier on yourself!
Becoming a B+ Academic
Many of us were A+ students in undergrad, so anything less than our best effort makes us feel like failures. We believe we must give our all to teaching, research, service, and any other aspect of our lives that we value. The reality is that we cannot give 100% to everything all of the time in order to manage the workload of graduate school or a faculty career. Instead, we have to allow ourselves to be B+ academics on certain projects and tasks to maintain sanity and equilibrium.
One effect of this A+ mentality is that we perpetually think that we haven’t accomplished enough and are always behind where we should be.
Having high standards is problematic in and of itself, but I believe it is a difficult mental state to be in if we are constantly viewing our performances as inadequate for a glass half-empty. So, we need to resist that tendency and refill any depleted cups.
If you’re feeling like you may not have accomplished “enough” here at the end of the school year, this post is for you.
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