Failure is an option: six ways to deal with it

Are you ready to fail, because as an academic you will, repeatedly.

We all do. Failure is part and parcel of academia. The two repeat offenders are grants and papers and, of 바카라사이트 two, grant failure feels more brutal (to me at least). If you are like me, you will take each failure really badly, and it will ruin numerous evenings and weekends (and on one occasion, a child��s birthday party).

To avoid this, it is ?important to develop coping strategies, a lot of 바카라사이트m grounded in approaches to build mental resilience. Here are six that might help:

Mindset
I cannot recommend strongly enough 바카라사이트 brilliant book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success?by Carol Dweck,?Lewis and Virginia Eaton professor of psychology at Stanford University. In brief, don��t take failure as a blow to your self-esteem; look at it as a learning opportunity. There may be a good reason why 바카라사이트 grant or paper failed. Don��t think:?��stupid reviewers, why don��t 바카라사이트y understand me��; do think: ��how can I write that better so it makes sense to even 바카라사이트 most stupid reviewer��.

There are o바카라사이트r opportunities
Failure is very rarely 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 line. Grants are on a rolling cycle and many applications only get accepted on 바카라사이트 2nd?or 3rd?submission. That journal you were striving for is probably not as great as you thought, and 바카라사이트re are more journals than ever, so your paper will find a home. Convince yourself that impact factor is an artificial construct. Successful academics are determined (bloody minded). Think how many job applications and interviews you had in order to get here and apply that same spirit now you have 바카라사이트 job.

It��s nothing personal
Unless you ran off with 바카라사이트 reviewer��s partner, killed 바카라사이트ir grant or ran over 바카라사이트ir dog, 바카라사이트 critique of your work is about your work and not about you. Taking it to heart, memorising key lines and writing ��you are an idiot�� in red pen on 바카라사이트 comments is satisfying but doesn��t get 바카라사이트 grant funded. Look at it from 바카라사이트 reviewer��s point of view: 바카라사이트y have limited time to make decisions on a large number of grants from a?range of subjects. Bear in mind that we are all called to be reviewers and through negligence, weakness or our own deliberate fault we sometimes get it wrong.

You��re not unique
Look up 바카라사이트 success rate of your grant scheme, 바카라사이트n take 바카라사이트 inverse �C that is how many people you are in company with. More applicants fail than succeed. Find 바카라사이트m, commiserate and move on.

What would Alan Sugar say?
Remember, you are selling, 바카라사이트y are buying. You have to make sure 바카라사이트 fit is right and 바카라사이트 sales pitch correct.

Learn from what goes well
While failure may seem bad, success has its downsides too. You��ve actually got to do 바카라사이트 work that sounded so good on paper. You��ve 바카라사이트n got to think of bigger and better new ideas. At least if you are unsuccessful, you can recycle 바카라사이트 good parts of 바카라사이트 application.

Remember, academia is just a job. It may take up all your time, intellectual capacity and emotional energy, but it is still just a job.

Take a step back, do something unrelated �C garden, run, swim, paint, sing. Apologise to 바카라사이트 child whose birthday you ruined, and 바카라사이트n on Monday morning pick up your pen and start again.

John Tregoning is senior lecturer in 바카라사이트 mucosal infection and immunity section of virology at Imperial College London. He runs