Do you know what’s the easiest way to trigger a LinkedIn academic? Just tell them that life can be great. And that not everyone is suffering in some system-imposed seventh-layer underground torture dungeon.
But let’s begin with some context first. Pretty much every time I’ve caught myself blaming academia itself for my problems, I’ve found later it was just a matter of perspective.
Almost always about me.
The system? Oh. Of course it’s very far from perfect! I know! Of course, some people suffer! I’m not denying anyone’s subjective experiences here! And academia is full of issues.
But what can you do about them right now? On your own? Like, literally in the next five minutes?
Nothing.
As an early career researcher, you can’t change the system immediately. However, with some effort, you 100% can change how you react to the imperfections of the system. And your best bet, if you want to stay aboard, is to focus on doing your work with great groove, power, and consistency.
Groove, power & consistency. Work on those. And just to make sure this doesn’t get misunderstood: Of course you should strive to make the system better too. This is not a zero-sum game. Do both!
Yet. Right now. The low-hanging fruit is the one to grab: Working on things that are in your direct control. Robust psychological research all the way from 60s supports this, too, and this is not just the typical Simo-rant where most of the substance comes from between my funny ears.
Let’s first talk about a particularly nasty type of sports…
The Great Victim Olympics
Social media is full of people who complain about academia so much that one could think it’s their main job. Everyone is isolated, I hear. Everyone is suffering in silence out of fear of talking out.
Now, I know, I know, and have even written about it — these folks write these things with $$$ in their mind. Many are selling courses for academics hoping to exit academia, so painting these horror pictures makes sense from their perspective.
Anyway, from my perspective? Misinformation at best. The last sentence, suffering in silence being a threat, is true. It’s true universally in life and has nothing to do with academia specifically!
“But, Simo, I AM isolated!” I am sorry. I am. You may have landed in a bad patch of people or in a toxic lab. That happens. That happens in life as well as in academia. Reach out. Reach out to me if you want, and I will answer!
There are people out there who manage to through some mental gymnastics interpret suggesting you do something about your own circumstances as “lack of empathy.”
Of course, academia is tough. I’ll grant that much. You’re trying to convince people about your ideas all day long. You’re struggling to find support. You’re trying to find collaborators who are already busy. You must push quantity and quality at the same time.
Yes. It’s hard. All great things tend to be.
Cliche alert: If it were easy, everyone would do it.
Listen. You’re doing hard stuff. And I applaud you for that. You have my full respect. I know it’s hard. It’s still hard for me too, every day. You and I, we are pushing the very limits of human knowledge. And that’s supposed to be a hard task!
Celebrate it. It’s a noble undertaking. Perhaps even the most noble there is.
What’s the value of a PhD if it’s just a walk in the park?
And of course, I know how academia has real systemic problems. Job insecurity, statistically higher level of mental health issues and incompetent bosses than in the industry (hey, we promote based on not leadership skills but whoever wins money…) Many others.
BUT! And this is the really big but! We must not use these very real problems as a cop-out. We cannot use these to justify our own failures to focus on the positive and control what we can control: our reactions to the difficulties.
Now, we’ve talked about this earlier: these issues are great discussion starters. They give us a reason to complain. And complaining is the great joy of mankind! Everyone, me included, loves to moan about things. But too much is too much, and at some point you start to believe the moaning you repeat day in day out.
It’s called The Illusory Truth Effect, by the way. Repetition means you’ll start to buy into it. So, sure enough, if you keep reading and participating in the festival that is The Great Victim Olympics… your own nature, via the Illusory Truth Effect, will make sure you’ll be miserable and believe there’s nothing you can do about it.
You don’t want to wallow in self-caused misery.
Being miserable is a choice.
It’s a choice you can also choose not to make.
The Psychology of Academic Misery
Another psychological concept super relevant in this discussion is
Locus of Control.
Back in 1954, psychologist Julian Rotter discovered something cool about human behaviour. People with an internal locus of control (aka those who believe their actions influence outcomes) are more successful, healthier, and happier than those with an external locus.
Those with external… well, they get to look like this guy (one of the more hilarious images from Wikipedia / Locus of Control):
If you look at that sad figure, he (or she?) manages to turn everything into disempowering statements rather than giving himself credit or attacking challenges head-on.
But, good news! The empowering insight by Rotter is that locus of control is not an immutable trait but a variable. In other words, you can change it!
Now, what do we do in the world of research? Oh boy. Don’t just love to push people toward an external locus of control? To the wrong direction! Think about it:
- Your papers get accepted or rejected by anonymous reviewers
- Your funding depends on committee decisions
- Your job prospects hinge on “market conditions” or is “hopeless” to begin with (if you believe the social media loudmouths)
- Your research success involves variables you can’t control
No wonder so many develop this odd “perpetual victimhood mindset” you see online all the time, where you’re always the victim and never have any agency over your happiness to begin with…or in other words, having a super strong external locus of control.
So how can it be that even in this system, some people thrive? Some find great satisfaction and build meaningful careers. Some even—oh God, brace yourself for this will hurt—enjoy their academic lives (while getting paid well, too)!
What’s their secret?
Ready?
The Uncomfortable Truth About Academic Happiness
It’s not academia’s job to make you happy. It’s your job.
I know, I know. Revolutionary thinking right there!
Let’s DeLvE InTo this (I wrote that).
I’m sure you’ve noticed this: Two people in the exact same environment can be polar opposites. One complains about the system, and one magically seems to find its hidden gems and opportunities. As if the latter one is somehow luckier… But no, they’ve developed what I call their very own academic solosystem, where they recognise they are the creator and director. They understand that while you can’t control the entire system, you can control your focus and reactions to what goes on in the rest of the system.
You can control your creativity and resourcefulness (which differs a lot from resources).
And you can 100% control your daily state!
Remember: Language, focus, physiology!
Your happiness depends way more on your attitude than it does on objective, external circumstances. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll be free to work on your happiness!
And, no, this doesn’t mean pretending problems don’t exist. Worth repeating like a parrot. But this does mean that waiting for academia to make you happy is a losing strategy.
The Academic Solosystem Revolution
So let’s put all this into action. Start building your own world, through intentional action rather than blaming academia for all of it.
1. Stop Outsourcing Your Emotional State
“Accept responsibility for your life”
I don’t even know who said that first. So many people did! Just know it’s only you who’s going to get you where you want to be. Others can show you where the path starts, even give you the full map. But nobody else can walk the walk for you.
And no, it’s not about the “next stage” of your career. Sure, finishing that PhD, getting that promotion, or even getting tenure — they all feel great! In the moment. The week after? Nah. That’s not where it’s at. And every time you convince yourself “you’ll be happy when” you’re doing nothing but ensuring a stage of unhappiness until you achieve that mythical something. Just to realise that wasn’t it. And you come up with the next “until that” which, just like the previous one, won’t do it,
Research backs also this up: A significant negative relationship between external locus of control and happiness. When you constantly attribute your emotional state to external factors, you literally train your brain to feel helpless.
Instead, start each day by asking, “What can I control today?” Then, focus obsessively on that list. You can’t control the grant decisions that arrived a month ago.
So focus on what you can control. And everything else?
Let it gooooooo (parents of girls among you will get this reference…)
Stop letting anonymous reviewers, committee members, or, God forbid, LinkedIn influencers define what a successful academic life looks like!
Instead:
2. Build Your Own Scorecard!
Create also your own metrics for happiness that YOU CAN control, even if it’s hard. Random examples from my head:
- Days you felt intellectually stimulated (pretty easy to measure at the end of the day)
- Moments you helped a friend achieve something
- Times you created something new
You create yours.
Most importantly, be sure to make some good daily progress on projects that matter to you, regardless of any external validation! What projects matter? Take a lot of time to reflect on that. Meaningful projects, consistent work, over long periods of time. That’s the winning recipe, and it’s what I also teach in-depth in the PhD Power Trio. Because it just works.
When you measure and act on what matters to you, instead of what others say you should do, everything changes.
And ultimately, the best way to reclaim agency is to put in the work and…
3. Shift that Locus of Control
This is not easy. But now that you accept responsibility and have your own scorecard, here are evidence-based steps to shift your locus of control toward internal:
Reframe Your Perspective and Language: Notice how you think and talk about events. Avoid phrases like “I have no choice” or “Nothing I do matters,” which reinforce external control. Instead, focus on what you can influence! Simple things: e.g. shift from “This always happens to me” to “What can I do differently next time?” Journal daily about situations, noting internal factors (your efforts) versus external ones.
Claim those Small Wins: Start with manageable actions. How about fully reading just one publication per day (most don’t do this), or preparing one piece of data analysis per day thoroughly. These “small wins” accumulate and boost your belief in personal agency and countering helplessness. Too often, we try to do too much! Then, it fails. And as a result, nothing gets done. A whole week goes by with no results. Whereas 5 small wins Monday to Friday would lead into a massive leap forward!
Take Planned Risks, Almost Planned to Fail: Try low-risk challenges that are asymmetric: High upside but super limited downside. Maybe a grant you know is hard to get. Submit some of your work to a “too ambitious venue” or something like that. Then simply view failure as a learning opportunity. Analyse, adjust. I like to think of this like a form of weighted lottery. Who knows, maybe you’re just underestimating yourself!
Those three things alone. Not much? But they will open your eyes on how you can just get things done. And, look, at the end of the day, being a happier academic comes down to one simple but radical act: claiming your own damn story.
Stop letting other people, whether it’s bitter LinkedIn academic doomsayers, or even well-meaning colleagues, define what your academic happiness should look like. Publishing more and more and more papers won’t make you happy. And their experience just simply isn’t yours, their mistakes don’t have to be repeated by you, and their history doesn’t have to be your future.
You have way more agency than you think. Yes, even in academia’s messy, imperfect system. You can choose what projects excite you. You can choose how you respond to rejection. You can choose to focus on growth over metrics, contribution over competition, and progress over perfection.
You can choose patience and a good life.
Work on your identity. Stop waiting for permission. Perfect conditions don’t exist. Nobody will fix “it” for you. You will fix this for you. Believe you can do this. Because you can!
You absolutely can.