​What would you miss most if you quit research right now?
 
An answer I often hear is ‘having autonomy’. Academic freedom comes at a price, both financially and metaphorically. But having this level of agency is a huge privilege. If we take that for granted, we allow a culture of negativity to prevail without this vital positive to balance it.

The importance of agency
The feeling of being able to exert control over our environment, and to some extent over our destiny, is one of the most basic human needs. Our brains are wired to feel pleasure from having agency over our lives. Even our health depends on it.
 
At its best, research fulfils this need very well. Many of us have substantial autonomy over our research topic and over how we organise our day, while actually getting paid for it.
 
However, it comes as part of a package in which we seem to have very little agency in other areas of our work. Whether it’s a compulsory training course or a meeting where we feel unable to speak, the contrast could not be greater.

​For people drawn to academic freedom, having less freedom on other issues can seem particularly problematic. It helps to understand why these limits are there, and to ask: ‘What agency do we have?’ and ‘How can we use it?’.    

We all feel out of our depth sometimes. It is normal to experience imposter feelings in these moments, but by managing these feelings better, could we reduce the risk of slipping into the far more damaging  ‘imposter syndrome’?
 
Imposter syndrome shows up in diverse and often damaging ways, including many we don't normally think of this way. These include unhealthy levels of procrastination, overworking, perfectionism and unconscious avoidance, not just a lack of confidence. Which of us doesn’t experience at least one of these sometimes? Imposter feelings, in contrast, could be seen as a ‘growth moment’, a healthy driver of personal development that helps us perform at our best.

​Staying on the right side of this fine line is a challenge. If we had a better understanding of what drives imposter feelings in research, could we learn how to harness their stimulus for growth instead of damaging our wellbeing and productivity?

​There was a political earthquake in the US last week. There are major ongoing wars, climate change, economic uncertainty, a post-pandemic world we are still adapting to, and the new challenge of ‘artificial intelligence’.
 
And somehow, in the middle of all this, we need to stay calm and rational enough to do good science!
 
How does that work?

​You may be relieved to hear this post is not about politics! Or the perceived moral high ground of either 'side'. You may find it helpful to read regardless of where you stand on those issues. It is about finding the clarity and motivation for science in an uncertain world. What are the prospects for science in a world that questions its role in society? And how can we reinforce our own personal values in a changed landscape?