#EveryLittleActionCounts Week 36: Don’t compare yourselves to others!
In academia, we are easily tempted to compare ourselves to others. Whether it’s the number of publications, the duration of a PhD, conferences, prestigious grants, or awards, it often feels like someone is ahead of you. However, this mindset can be harmful and counterproductive; here are our three key reasons:
Individual Journeys Vary
Everyone has different historicity, background, goals, visions, and desires. Comparing yourself to someone on a different path can lead to an unfair self-assessment.
Skewed Perspectives
You often see others’ achievements but not their struggles, giving a wrong view of reality and fostering unnecessary self-doubt. Remember, you don’t know people unless they tell you their story.
Emotionally Draining
Constant comparison can drain your energy, leaving you less motivated, and confident in your own abilities.
Here are our three top strategies to avoid comparison to others:
Compare yourself to yourself
Track your own progress and celebrate any small steps in personal and professional development based on where you started. Be kind to yourself and congratulate yourself whenever you go one step ahead.
Seek Inspiration, Not Competition
Learn from others’ endeavours and achievements at the same career stage or a few years ahead of you as a source of ideas and motivation rather than as a benchmark of self-worth.
Practice Self-Reflection
Regularly reflect on your growth and achievements, regardless of their size, to reinforce a sense of progress and gratitude.
We would be very happy to hear about your strategies for avoiding comparison to others.
Anne-Wil Harzing & Christa Sathish