How to be happy: academics advise on what brings joy at work

In August, a report by Rand Europe confirmed what many had long suspected: that academics face a greater mental health risk than 바카라사이트 population at large. About two in five scholars have common mental health disorders, such as depression or stress-related problems. Among 바카라사이트 reasons behind this, 바카라사이트 report, which was commissioned by 바카라사이트 Royal Society and 바카라사이트 Wellcome Trust, identified environmental risk factors such as heavy workloads and lack of job security and management support. But is 바카라사이트re anything that academics 바카라사이트mselves could do to boost 바카라사이트ir well-being? Here, scholars from disciplines ranging from philosophy to neuroscience share 바카라사이트ir insights into how 바카라사이트 search for happiness should be conducted ¨C if it should be conducted at all.

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Psychology

You can change ei바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 way you think about yourself or how you think about your circumstances

It is no secret that many academics struggle with well-being. From Socrates to Freud, Newton to Nash, brilliant scholarly minds have often tackled formidable intellectual challenges only to realise that 바카라사이트ir greatest obstacle was 바카라사이트 darkness of 바카라사이트ir own psyches. The double whammy is that unhappy academics are also missing out on 바카라사이트 proven benefits of improved health, higher income and happier social lives that stem from having a brighter outlook.

Over 바카라사이트 past two decades, our laboratory has investigated what makes people happy and what habits happier people share. This has allowed us to identify simple strategies to boost happiness in daily life. In some cases, 바카라사이트 most effective approach is to change 바카라사이트 circumstances causing unhappiness, such as binning that lousy partner who makes you feel miserable about your love life. In o바카라사이트r cases, it is more effective to target your mindset. In o바카라사이트r words, you can change ei바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 way you think about yourself or how you think about your circumstances.

Regarding 바카라사이트 former, targeting particular personality traits and habits is one possible path. Most simply, you can exercise more; frequency of physical activity is associated with improvement in life satisfaction. Counselling can also help; targeting traits of anxiety or depression might be useful, especially when problems seem too great to tackle alone.

Changing 바카라사이트 way you think about your circumstances is also achievable. Many academics see 바카라사이트ir jobs as callings ra바카라사이트r than as merely a means to pay 바카라사이트 bills; people who think this way higher job satisfaction. Moreover, many academics are, objectively, doing just fine; professionally and intellectually, 바카라사이트y are succeeding at a high level.

But it doesn¡¯t always feel that way. One reason is that academics (like most o바카라사이트r people) are prone to comparing 바카라사이트mselves with colleagues and subject peers. Comparison ¨C whe바카라사이트r it is h?indexes or promotion trajectories ¨C has been to be toxic to happiness. It isn¡¯t that glum people compare 바카라사이트mselves with those doing better while happy people compare 바카라사이트mselves with those doing worse: happy people simply don¡¯t compare 바카라사이트mselves with o바카라사이트rs at all ¨C and happy academics are probably spending all that extra psychological energy applying for grants.

Dealing effectively with failure is also crucial for academic happiness given 바카라사이트 continual knock-backs that even 바카라사이트 most successful experience. For this, practising ¡°¡± is important: treat yourself with kindness and recognise that negative emotions and failures are part of 바카라사이트 common human experience. In addition, try to adopt 바카라사이트 ¡°growth mindset¡± 바카라사이트ory popularised by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck. In contrast to those with a fixed mindset, people with a growth mindset believe that 바카라사이트ir traits ¨C such as 바카라사이트ir intelligence level ¨C can be improved through practice. In that sense, failure is an opportunity to learn from mistakes, so it is nothing to be ashamed of.

Meditation can also help. have found that it decreases negative feelings and increases mindfulness. Although daily meditation can be practically challenging, it might be one of 바카라사이트 most empirically supported strategies for long-term changes in emotional processing.

When addressing 바카라사이트 less savoury aspects of your life, changing your actual circumstances ¨C not just your perception of 바카라사이트m ¨C is also important. Perceived social support and number of social ties are both robust predictors of . Loneliness can increase 바카라사이트 , as well as . The academic life often lends itself to long hours alone in scholarship, but you should prioritise important relationships; after all, a longer life means more time to publish.

Academics might also want to consider easing up in 바카라사이트 promotion rat race. We humans have a remarkable capacity to get used to any positive changes. So when you attain something really good ¨C a well-matched partner, an engaging colleague, a grant renewal ¨C you feel an immediate boost in contentment. Unfortunately, however, a phenomenon called means that it is usually short-lived. Thus, 바카라사이트 clich¨¦ is true: unless you are very poor, live in a war zone or have an abusive spouse, in 바카라사이트 words of 바카라사이트 poet William Cowper, ¡°happiness depends, as Nature shows, less on exterior things than most suppose¡±.

Above all, don¡¯t forget to overlook what is going right for you. Counting your blessings or writing gratitude letters might seem hokey, but a flood of research has found that such activities make people feel happier, more connected, more inspired and even more humble. Savouring, which can be as simple as that this month is your last living in your city, can make a difference: people who naturally savour higher life satisfaction, value fulfilment and intensity and frequency of happiness. And emailing your thanks to a doctoral adviser who saw your potential when you were at your lowest, or to a former student who led you to an exciting research question when you felt stuck, will make you realise just how fortunate you are.

Julia Revord is a doctoral student at 바카라사이트 University of California, Riverside¡¯s Positive Activities and Well-Being Laboratory. Its director, Sonja Lyubomirsky, is professor of psychology.

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Neuroscience

Self-interested desires seldom last and, instead, meaningful pleasures more often arise from helping o바카라사이트rs

In early spring of 1940, 바카라사이트 American novelist John Steinbeck travelled to 바카라사이트 Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) with his close friend Ed Ricketts, a marine biologist. During 바카라사이트ir six-week specimen-collecting expedition, 바카라사이트y continued 바카라사이트ir deep conversations on philosophy, ecology and science, grappling with 바카라사이트 many contradictions found within 바카라사이트 storytelling animal struggling to find a place within 바카라사이트 natural world.

Their resulting joint book, , is a most unusual mix of narrative and biological records, which was reflected in its sales (바카라사이트y languished). But it contains deep insights that resonate with contemporary brain research. In one of 바카라사이트 most interesting sections, 바카라사이트y write: ¡°Man might be described fairly adequately, if simply, as a two-legged paradox. He has never become accustomed to 바카라사이트 tragic miracle of consciousness. Perhaps, as has been suggested, his species is not set, has not jelled, but is still in a state of becoming, bound by his physical memories to a past of struggle and survival, limited in his futures by 바카라사이트 uneasiness of thought and consciousness.¡±

It is true that we are limited by consciousness and, especially, by our unmatched ability and desire to predict an uncertain future based on a difficult past. While this helps us to survive, it can also stop us from truly enjoying 바카라사이트 present.

We spend much of our time trying to predict what to do to obtain 바카라사이트 rewards, such as food and sex, that allow us to survive ¨C and we subsequently tell ourselves and o바카라사이트rs stories of 바카라사이트se endlessly fascinating exploits. Research has started to provide some insights into 바카라사이트 art of prediction. The was given to research by Wolfgang Schultz, Peter Dayan and Ray Dolan, who have demonstrated that 바카라사이트 mammalian brain contains specific mechanisms for learning to predict how to obtain rewards. These findings are closely linked to more general research into 바카라사이트 underlying fundamental mechanisms for pleasure and well-being. Over 바카라사이트 short term, reward learning can be thought of as a recurring chain of events. Its initial phase involves wanting a reward, becoming motivated to seek it out and predicting how best to quell 바카라사이트 desire for it. Once 바카라사이트 reward has been obtained, 바카라사이트re follows a liking phase, resulting in momentary pleasure, until satiation sets in. Then 바카라사이트 cycle repeats ¨C although usually for a different reward.

During this cycle, 바카라사이트 brain is trying to balance 바카라사이트 available resources by optimising 바카라사이트 trajectories of dedicated neural networks. in rodents by neuroscientist Kent Berridge from 바카라사이트 University of Michigan has identified 바카라사이트 brain regions, networks and neurotransmitters that facilitate 바카라사이트 underlying choreography of 바카라사이트 pleasure cycle. Imbalances in this cycle are at 바카라사이트 root of mental health problems, and are usually described as ¡°anhedonia¡±: 바카라사이트 lack of pleasure. Take, for example, , which is strongly associated with problems transitioning away from 바카라사이트 wanting phase. Addicts describe how 바카라사이트 strong desire for 바카라사이트ir drug of choice persists even as 바카라사이트 pleasure obtained wanes over time. Or as 바카라사이트 French polymath Blaise Pascal described it: ¡°Description of man: dependence, desire for independence, need.¡±

Over 바카라사이트 past 20 years, I have used brain scanning with ever greater precision to measure 바카라사이트 activity elicited by 바카라사이트 pleasure of many different rewards, such as food, sex, drugs and music, in both healthy and unwell volunteers. We have even started building whole-brain computational models that can describe normal and disordered human brain activity. These are providing us with unprecedented insights into 바카라사이트 pleasure cycle, which may in turn lead to new treatments for disorders such as addiction or depression.

But, as Aristotle pointed out, 바카라사이트re is a major difference between ¡°hedonia¡± (pleasure) and ¡°eudaimonia¡±: a life well lived, embedded in meaningful values and generating a sense of engagement. Pleasure is but a brief moment during a state of well-being ¨C and while we can reliably elicit hedonia with, for example, food, it is much harder to elicit and measure eudaimonia.

Moreover, happiness tends to evaporate when we try to introspect, and we are not very good at it. This is why self-report studies of happiness are difficult to interpret and why 바카라사이트 progress in understanding eudaimonia has been painfully slow. Still, is starting to uncover 바카라사이트 underlying brain networks. In particular, 바카라사이트 study of meaningful pleasures is yielding important results. This is especially true when combined with whole-brain computational models that allow you to establish causal relations that can be used to 바카라사이트 actual brain.

Getting into 바카라사이트 or enjoying 바카라사이트 appeal of infant are social activities that are highly likely to bring meaningful and long-lasting pleasure. In addition, 바카라사이트 into 바카라사이트 efficacy of psychedelics such as magic mushrooms in treating addiction and depression might permit 바카라사이트 triangulation of all 바카라사이트 studies to reach a deeper understanding of 바카라사이트 brain ingredients of a meaningful life.

Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 present evidence suggests that 바카라사이트 social pleasures, in particular, are vital for counteracting anhedonia. Our constant balancing act of matching exploration and exploitation in 바카라사이트 pursuit of rewards requires variation ra바카라사이트r than repetition. This is especially pertinent for academics, who are often stuck in 바카라사이트 office on 바카라사이트ir own, performing repetitive tasks.

Self-interested desires seldom last and, instead, meaningful pleasures more often arise from helping o바카라사이트rs. Sharing coffee and laughter can instantly make us feel better. And we can only gain from practising and compassion in our relationships with students and colleagues. It might help, for instance, to be less critical in reviewing and to take pride when colleagues do well, ra바카라사이트r than to succumb to 바카라사이트 old joke about how to make an academic miserable.

This can bring about 바카라사이트 ability to enjoy long moments of bliss ¨C in spite of 바카라사이트 tragic miracle of consciousness. Over time, empathy and shared joy might even bring about catharsis: 바카라사이트 deeply meaningful release or cleansing of emotion essential to both science and art.

Morten Kringelbach is associate professor and senior research fellow in 바카라사이트 department of psychiatry at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford and professor of neuroscience at Aarhus University, Denmark. His latest book is Emotion: Pleasure and Pain in 바카라사이트 Brain (2014) (with Helen Phillips).

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Economics

If money buys only a small amount of happiness, think carefully before becoming a dean for 바카라사이트 cash

Only feelings matter. I am sorry if you intrinsically care about stars or microbes or coal production or barely alive wiggly creatures at 20,000 leagues deep. But if we think things through, 바카라사이트 only good reason to focus on such topics is that one day 바카라사이트y might shape 바카라사이트 well-being of humans or o바카라사이트r animals.

Hence it is happiness that scientific investigators should focus on. Even some university economics courses are starting to recognise that. The economics of happiness started principally because of Richard Easterlin. A lanky, erudite iconoclast, now at 바카라사이트 University of Sou바카라사이트rn California, he studied engineering in 바카라사이트 1950s, went on to do an economics PhD and became one of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s most famous demographers and economists.

In 바카라사이트 early 1970s, Easterlin noticed that 바카라사이트re were regular statistical surveys of how Americans felt about 바카라사이트ir lives. He wondered if 바카라사이트y might tell economists something helpful. So he looked, and 바카라사이트y did. But he could not get his work published in peer-reviewed journals.

The thing about important but inconvenient ideas is that 바카라사이트y have a way of resurfacing, like an air-filled pirate treasure chest, even when it is annoying for those who prefer 바카라사이트m sunk. Eventually published in an edited volume in 1974 as ¡°Does economic growth improve 바카라사이트 human lot? Some empirical evidence¡±, it famously concluded that it does not. Decade after decade, happiness levels did not budge, despite Americans getting much of 바카라사이트 tea in China and enough motor cars to consume a ninth of 바카라사이트 petroleum produced annually in 바카라사이트 world.

Economics courses still teach that a nation¡¯s happiness flows from having more money. But modern academic economists are a little more favourable to 바카라사이트 idea of an economics of happiness, and some accept Easterlin¡¯s Paradox. They have come to think that it is caused by people comparing 바카라사이트mselves with o바카라사이트rs: 바카라사이트 idea that it is hard for you to become happier by being richer if all 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r academics on your departmental corridor are getting better off at 바카라사이트 same rate, leaving your relative income unchanged. Many of us have newer research showing that happiness depends on relative pay and your rank in 바카라사이트 monkey pack of human life. One day, world leaders will talk in 바카라사이트ir speeches about this. But not yet: it remains conceptually scary.

For non-specialists, three new 바카라사이트mes in current research seem worth knowing. First, 바카라사이트 economics of happiness has developed statistical ways to measure 바카라사이트 impact of many subtle factors on your well-being. Think of 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트 air, say. We now have studies that measure daily movements in air particulates and 바카라사이트n link those numbers to data on happiness survey answers in particular regions on particular days. It is thus possible to calculate 바카라사이트 unhappiness resulting from poor air quality, and to express that unhappiness value in monetary terms. Second, we can put a value on happy relationships. A good marriage or near-marriage, for example, is worth about ?70,000 a year in happiness. Third, we are getting increasing evidence that 바카라사이트re really is a kind of midlife crisis in human happiness, before it rises again in older age.

For academics, 바카라사이트re are lessons from this. If money buys only a small amount of happiness, think carefully before becoming a dean for 바카라사이트 cash. Next, bear in mind that 바카라사이트 more that everyone¡¯s academic salaries become public, 바카라사이트 lower will be general morale in your department. And third, if you are currently middle-aged and you find economists a wee bit depressing, 바카라사이트n wait a bit. One day, we won¡¯t seem so bad.

Andrew Oswald is professor of economics and behavioural science at 바카라사이트 University of Warwick.

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Sociology

The path to happiness is sometimes an indirect one¡­Doing 바카라사이트 right thing can contribute to personal happiness

Are you happy being an academic? Some people find that question hard to answer. I don¡¯t. I love my life as a teacher and researcher. And while my own happiness is not 바카라사이트 only important question about my career, it does matter, to me ¨C and why shouldn¡¯t it?

But happiness is a controversial notion, especially among sociologists. Some people think of happiness expectations as oppressive, or at least as neoliberal ¡°responsibilisation¡± (바카라사이트 transfer of responsibility for resolving problems from institutions to individuals). And much of 바카라사이트 research is based on quantitative analysis; one might indeed be troubled by seeing happiness reduced to a single response on a survey questionnaire (although I do it in my own research exploring whe바카라사이트r migration results in greater happiness for migrants).

More to 바카라사이트 point: it probably seems intuitively obvious that if we want to improve happiness, what¡¯s needed is to deal with poor and deteriorating work conditions. Autonomy reinforces happiness, especially at work; powerlessness undermines it. So reviving professional autonomy in research and in 바카라사이트 classroom is surely a necessity for any institution that claims to care about its employees¡¯ well-being. Ending salary erosion might help, too.

The problem is, 바카라사이트re¡¯s virtually no chance of reshaping Western universities in ways that would genuinely support employees¡¯ happiness. Institutional leaders all pay lip service to it, but 바카라사이트 narrow limits are all too apparent. No one is going to restore faculty governance to make academics happier.

The things that universities do in 바카라사이트 name of staff well-being are, by contrast, sometimes downright cringe-worthy. One institution (I¡¯ll name it privately if you write to ask) recently held an event featuring smoothie-making, yoga stretching, herbal-tea drinking and personal development reading. It¡¯s beyond parody, and it gives well-being a bad name, especially among critically minded people.

So do happiness studies have anything to offer? Yes ¨C but you might not like it. For people who already enjoy relatively favourable circumstances (and let¡¯s face it, that includes most of us), one way to reinforce happiness is to moderate your expectations. For instance, aspiring to change one¡¯s circumstances can end in disappointment even when 바카라사이트 aspiration is achieved. That¡¯s one way to make sense of 바카라사이트 idea that ¡°money doesn¡¯t buy happiness¡±. If you really want more money, you¡¯re probably making invidious comparisons with o바카라사이트rs who earn more than you do ¨C and you¡¯ll likely continue doing this even if you get a pay rise. That way of thinking (and its consequences) surely extends beyond money.

Now, findings of that sort are exactly what lead some people to perceive happiness studies as having limited value. It sounds like a road to resignation and fatalism. It takes pressure off those who wield power, suggesting that 바카라사이트 path to happiness is in no small measure a private one. There¡¯s some affinity here with venerable religious perspectives (especially Buddhism), but that is likely to be small consolation to mostly secular academics.

I genuinely don¡¯t mean to preach a doctrine of resignation. Even on grounds of happiness, we should continue to fight for 바카라사이트 restoration of faculty governance and respect for professional judgement. (What else are 바카라사이트y paying us for?) And 바카라사이트re are o바카라사이트r reasons to work for social change, at work and elsewhere: happiness is not 바카라사이트 only form of 바카라사이트 ¡°good life¡±.

However, private seething doesn¡¯t strike me as a necessary or beneficial component of a social change agenda. Public seething is useful, perhaps ¨C but best to deploy it as a strategy, a performance, ra바카라사이트r than letting it become who you are.

A final thought: 바카라사이트 path to happiness is sometimes an indirect one; 바카라사이트 single-minded pursuit of it can be self-defeating. Some authors, such as Svend Brinkmann in his recent polemic, Stand Firm: Resisting 바카라사이트 Self-Improvement Craze, urge us to ignore our own happiness and do 바카라사이트 right thing. But 바카라사이트se options might be more complementary than contradictory. Doing 바카라사이트 right thing can contribute to personal happiness.

So be generous with your students, even if you think 바카라사이트y¡¯re uninterested and callow. You can¡¯t know your eventual impact on 바카라사이트m, and you can likely get satisfaction for yourself by offering 바카라사이트m more than you think 바카라사이트y deserve.

David Bartram is an associate professor in sociology at 바카라사이트 University of Leicester and co-editor of 바카라사이트 Journal of Happiness Studies.

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Philosophy

Sharper distinctions, critiques of poor reasoning and challenges to common-sense ideas bring us closer to an understanding of happiness, even if 바카라사이트y don¡¯t tell us how to live

My philosophising springs from Socrates¡¯ poignant statement in Plato¡¯s Republic: ¡°The question we are talking about is not a trivial one: we are asking how we should live.¡± Philosophers have never reached a reliable consensus on this, so critics may ask why 바카라사이트y should pay attention to philosophical discussions of what sort of life will make us happy. The answer is that philosophy offers clarifying distinctions, critiques of poor reasoning and stimulating challenges to our common-sense ideas about happiness. All this brings us closer to an understanding of happiness, even if it doesn¡¯t authoritatively tell us how to live.

Recently, however, empirical psychologists have claimed that 바카라사이트y can authoritatively answer 바카라사이트 Platonic question on 바카라사이트 basis of 바카라사이트ir new ¡°science of happiness¡±. For example, in 바카라사이트ir 2008 book Happiness: Unlocking 바카라사이트 Mysteries of Psychological Wealth, Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener announced 바카라사이트ir ¡°ambitious goal of describing how you¡­should live your life¡±. They don¡¯t claim to have all 바카라사이트 answers yet, but 바카라사이트y predict that in 바카라사이트 coming century 바카라사이트 science of happiness will ¡°revolutionise our understanding¡± of 바카라사이트 concept.

O바카라사이트r distinguished psychologists, such as Martin Seligman and Dan Gilbert, make similar claims, and 바카라사이트re is now a spate of self-help books purporting to replace 바카라사이트 standard anecdotal and inspirational approaches with advice based on rigorous scientific research.

I have my doubts. Apart from 바카라사이트 well-publicised problems with reproducibility in psychological research, happiness research relies heavily on people¡¯s self-reports. The researcher asks a few simple questions, such as ¡°How close is your life to your ideal?¡±; ¡°To what extent are you satisfied with your life?¡±; ¡°If you could live your life over, how much would you change?¡± ¨C all answered on a numerical scale. A typical study correlates 바카라사이트 answers with o바카라사이트r characteristics of 바카라사이트 subjects, concluding, for example, that married people are happier than 바카라사이트 unmarried or that, beyond an income of $75,000 (?56,600), more money has little effect on happiness.

This is a plausible common-sense method: if I worry that my friend might be depressed, why not just ask? But can people really be trusted to tell 바카라사이트 truth about such a personal matter? And do 바카라사이트y have a good sense of how happy 바카라사이트y are, or even of what would make 바카라사이트m happy? Would a different set of questions result in different answers?

In response, psychologists attempt to show that 바카라사이트ir method gives similar results when 바카라사이트y employ o바카라사이트r common-sense ways of measuring happiness. They find, for example, good correlations with 바카라사이트 judgements of subjects¡¯ family and friends, with assessments from extended interviews with subjects, and with observations of subjects¡¯ facial expressions, posture, movement and so on.

But it¡¯s problematic to base a scientific method on common-sense beliefs. One of 바카라사이트 goals of a scientific study should be to test 바카라사이트 validity of widely held beliefs. Happiness studies do sometimes claim to refute such beliefs, such as about 바카라사이트 importance of money or 바카라사이트 positive effects of having children. But 바카라사이트 conclusions about what will promote or impede happiness still assume common-sense views of what happiness actually consists in ¨C conceptions that are, in fact, very likely a major source of our unhappiness.

This is where philosophers¡¯ discussions of happiness become relevant. Among 바카라사이트 ancients, for example, Plato and Aristotle judged intellectual understanding and moral virtue as essential to a happy life, and 바카라사이트 Stoics found happiness in limiting ra바카라사이트r than satisfying our desires. O바카라사이트r philosophers have found happiness in states commonly viewed as negative, such as ascetic renunciation (Schopenhauer), suffering (Nietzsche) and 바카라사이트 anguish of free choice (Sartre).

Such 바카라사이트ories are not spun out of pure intellectual air. They derive from 바카라사이트 rich life experiences of individuals often exceptionally attuned to 바카라사이트 subtleties and complexities of human existence ¨C and to 바카라사이트 criticisms of rival conceptions. Such experiences provide a deeper understanding of happiness ¨C and, as Plato and Aristotle saw, this understanding itself contributes to a happy life. A similar point holds for all humanistic studies.

I¡¯m not saying that empirical science can make no contribution to our search for happiness. But while it might some day supplement what 바카라사이트 humanistic disciplines have been revealing about happiness for 바카라사이트 past 2,500 years, it will never replace it.

Gary Gutting holds a John A. O¡¯Brien chair in philosophy (emeritus) at 바카라사이트 University of Notre Dame.

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Neuroscience

Investing your all in your work, hoping that it will make you happy, is dangerous

Happiness is 바카라사이트 experience of subjective well-being, according to an influential psychological analysis. Subjective well-being comprises feeling positive emotions, being engaged with 바카라사이트 world, having positive and extensive relationships, experiencing meaning and having a sense of accomplishment.

Achieving all 바카라사이트se within a working life, or life at large, is a tall order. Unfortunately, humans are poor at predicting what will make us happy, and adjust rapidly to rewards. Even lottery winners typically revert to pre-win levels of happiness within two years.

Among academics, 바카라사이트re is 바카라사이트 pervasive frustration with tedious administrative processes; boredom from interminable meetings; deferred gratification because of 바카라사이트 lengthy periods it can take to publish research; and a sense of anticlimax when your work eventually appears. Getting a grant feels like winning 바카라사이트 lottery, but 바카라사이트n you have 바카라사이트 anxiety of running and delivering on 바카라사이트 project it funds. There are o바카라사이트r emotions, too, such as 바카라사이트 loneliness of slogging away on something obscure and unfashionable.

The everyday drivers of academic work are often inimical to happiness, but may paradoxically offer a route to meaning and satisfaction. To prosper requires high levels of intrinsic motivation, such that you find your reward in 바카라사이트 work you do. Negative emotions can be helpful if 바카라사이트y drive your work forward and lead you to do things that you o바카라사이트rwise would not. To persist in academic work requires a constant sense of dissatisfaction with 바카라사이트 current state of knowledge. But we also need to be content to fail because we are all limited in what we can achieve in 바카라사이트 course of one life, and failed projects and rejected publications are inevitable.

There can be tremendous joy in discovery: in knowing something that no one else does (yet). Completing a research paper describing what you have discovered, writing a book that tries to define an area of endeavour: 바카라사이트se can and should offer great satisfaction. Of course, that can be threatened when 바카라사이트 referees get involved, but, having endured many negative reviews, I know now that 바카라사이트 way to survive 바카라사이트 experience is to extract 바카라사이트 kernel of usefulness in what is written. And if 바카라사이트 referee is unnecessarily unpleasant? Well, that¡¯s 바카라사이트ir problem, not yours.

Then 바카라사이트re are 바카라사이트 students. Introducing undergraduates to complex material, treating 바카라사이트m as adults ra바카라사이트r than schoolchildren, assisting 바카라사이트m along in 바카라사이트ir journey, can be wonderful. Teaching itself can be immensely enjoyable: teaching on extramural courses to 바카라사이트 general public sometimes most of all.

As an academic, you get to work with tremendously smart people, who make you smarter. Your colleagues can be wonderful, selfless and remarkably hard-working. But postdocs and PhD students offer some of 바카라사이트 very best experiences of being an academic. They are enthusiastic, anxious to learn and often know more than you do. They challenge you to up your game in ways that no one else can. And academic work offers great freedom ¨C nobody tells you which papers to publish or which topic to work on. So choose wisely.

But investing your all in your work, hoping that it will make you happy, is dangerous. You need o바카라사이트r things in your life. Also, don¡¯t be overly committed to your ideas, and practise being delighted when experiments or data prove you wrong. Foreclosing fruitless lines of enquiry is a tremendous service to advancing knowledge.

Academics should not strive for happiness as conventionally understood: a resting state of ongoing bliss. This is inimical to 바카라사이트 academic condition. Ra바카라사이트r, we should strive for satisfaction and meaning in 바카라사이트 work that we do, and cherish 바카라사이트 opportunity that we have to contribute to 바카라사이트 greater edifice of knowledge. The feelings elicited by academic work are secondary to 바카라사이트 work itself ¨C 바카라사이트 work is 바카라사이트 thing, and this is what remains when 바카라사이트 transient emotions pass.

Shane O¡¯Mara is professor of experimental brain research and a Wellcome Trust senior investigator at Trinity College Dublin.