Defining your own success

“When I get my PhD place, paper, thesis, postdoc, ’big’ paper, fellowship, big grant, promotion, tenure, chair or esteemed prize, I’ll be happy”. We’ve all yearned for some or all of these at some point. Has any of them brought lasting happiness? 
 
The psychology behind research life is, in many ways, no different from everyone else’s. Society bombards us with adverts and messages about material successes that will supposedly make us happy. From our earliest memories we are programmed with stories that begin with dreams of riches, of escaping adversity, or outwitting stronger opponents. After a period of strife, the central character accomplishes their dream and lives “happily ever after”. 

​But in real life, the effect always wears off. Publishing a ‘big’ paper feels great at the time but before long we will always feel the need to prove we can do it again. A promotion brings more pay and prestige, but usually comes with new responsibilities and problems that will wear us down if we let them.   
 
So can we have a feeling of success that lasts?

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​Security: the elephant in the room

Let's get this out of the way first!

​​All of the successes above are tickets to security, and security matters hugely. We will never feel settled without it. But equating security with sustainable success does not help: each can help achieve the other but neither follows automatically. Because another vital ingredient for peace of mind is living by our values. Without that it will never truly feel like success.
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Two definitions
We each have two ways to define success. These come from what Steve Peters calls the Chimp and Human parts of our brain. The first is to survive and thrive in our career – fellowships, papers, tenure, the respect of our peers, etc. The other is to contribute to society through our work in whichever ways matter most to us – to advance knowledge, to train and mentor others, to communicate, to have good work-life balance, etc. The first is what our culture constantly ‘tells’ us, but that is not the full story. The second matters just as much, if not more. 
 
Hedonic adaptation
Those “happily ever after” stories also misrepresent the purpose and mechanisms of our brain’s reward system. Our ancestors constantly had to strive for survival. No single success could ensure it – a hunting catch would soon be eaten, or fighting off one predator will not stop the next one. Those who survived long enough to reproduce did so by repeating their successes and always looking out for the next level – a better territory or using a new invention to increase their chances. We inherited the genes that drove them to do it so we too are wired to always want more, a mechanism called hedonic adaptation. Unfortunately, in modern society, this creates all kinds of problems when our true needs are already met but we continue to want more.  
 
Imposter syndrome
Images in adverts of smiling, care-free people driving their dream car do not fit the reality of our next trip to the repair shop or kids arguing in the back seat. Similarly, when someone tells us about their Nature paper they rarely mention the rejections they had along the way or struggling with editors and reviewers for a year or more. The conference speaker whose acknowledgement slide shows 40 group members never mentions the stress of managing that many! We think those things happen only to us. 
 
The meaning of ‘success’
So what level of success should we be happy with and how do we know when we reach it? We don’t talk enough about this in science and that matters, because there is no single answer.

Our culture emphasises one dominant model of ‘success’ and we assume everyone will follow it or leave. But in other areas of life, such as sport, it is widely discussed. And there are some surprising similarities between careers in sport and research.
 
Both careers have insecurity, both cultures are obsessed with metrics, and both involve a lot of luck. Both have an extraordinary, and unhealthy focus on the highest achievers as though others do not count. It is uncanny how the media’s focus on Olympic medallists and world champions is mirrored by our own obsessions with Nobel Prize winners, Nature papers and the “big names” of our chosen research field. Scientists are not as different as we like to think we are!
 
There is one more crucial similarity. Ronnie O’Sullivan in snooker, Adam Peaty in swimming, Laura Kenny and Mark Cavendish in cycling and Jonny Wilkinson in rugby have all questioned the meaning of ‘success’, despite reaching the very pinnacle of their respective sports. Entrepreneur and popular podcast host Steven Bartlett says the same and Simon Mundie’s book and podcast explore this topic in detail. 

Years of striving and astonishing levels of achievement  did not bring the feeling they were seeking. Why then would we expect research achievements to feel any different?
 
Locking into success 
Sports psychologist Katie Mobed (née Warriner) puts it best: “Success, in and of itself, isn’t important; it’s what you do with it that matters”. A great way to lock into a feeling of success is giving back in some way. Traditional measures of ‘success’ just give us a bigger platform to do that. There are numerous examples, from pop star Bob Geldof using his fame to raise money for famine in Africa to footballer Marcus Rashford campaigning on free school meals, and Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling campaigning for world peace.
 
While none of us may have their level of fame, each of us can make a difference somewhere, whether that’s an inspiring talk to schoolchildren or mentoring future research leaders. If we don’t, what our culture sees as ‘success’ will very quickly feel hollow. 
 
Moving the goalposts
There is another reason our goals change, in addition to hedonic adaptation. Different life stages bring new experiences and needs, new perspectives that also change our values over time. New relationships, new jobs, having kids, kids leaving home, new career stages, and also negatives such as major illness or the death of a parent, all influence our goals. We should not be surprised by this: just expect it and adapt when it happens.

Celebrate!
As for that thesis, paper or grant you’re chasing right now, celebrate when you get it. I used to be very wary of celebrating, thinking it might lead to complacency. I was completely wrong. Stopping briefly to appreciate what we already achieved is vital for feeling successful. Without it we are primed to remember only the negatives and start believing that we always fail. And once the Prosecco has been drunk, hedonic adaptation is our friend. Because one of the beauties of research is there is always a next question. Celebrating a little will never stop us feeling compelled to answer it.
 
What dream are you chasing?
So what dream lies over your rainbow? Is it rapturous applause after your plenary talk at a major conference? Doing experiments that leave you buzzing with curiosity and the exciting discussions that follow with your colleagues? That moment when a PhD student you trained has an idea you would never have thought of? Reading the outstanding essay of an undergraduate who heard your lecture? Or is it work-life balance with a workable level of security and pay, playing a part in improving research culture, or seeing schoolchildren’s faces light up as you inspire their thoughts on a future career. 
 
Any or all of these, or others, could be our own definition of success. It’s your decision. Don’t let anyone else, or the culture you work in, make it for you!