Swimming Against the Current
How to Maintain Your Academic Vision When Pressures Mount
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
From scholarly articles to grant applications, academics are trained to follow methodological rigor and institutional protocols. Yet, as I navigate my own academic journey, I’m learning that an academic career isn’t simply about following established pathways. Blindly adhering to conventional wisdom without maintaining your original scholarly vision can lead to unexpected and often disappointing outcomes.
History teaches us that following the crowd without critical reflection can sometimes lead to troubling destinations. While academic examples are less dramatic than historical tragedies, we’ve all witnessed promising scholars gradually abandon their innovative research agendas in favor of “safer” projects more likely to secure funding or publication.
Or, we’ve heard of brilliant minds who chose conventional research topics over groundbreaking ones simply because they aligned better with departmental priorities or tenure requirements.
However, the consequences of blindly following academic convention aren’t always immediately apparent. Sometimes what dies isn’t your career trajectory but something less visible—your intellectual curiosity, scholarly passion, and the unique research questions that originally drew you to academia.
Many early career researchers become so entangled in the mechanics of academic survival—teaching loads, publication quotas, service obligations—that they lose sight of the distinctive scholarly vision that inspired their academic journey.
And when we lose sight of our intellectual purpose and instead search for an academic “mold” in which we can fit, we allow our unique scholarly contribution to be overshadowed by a blind pursuit of the “right” career path. We become driven by institutional anxiety instead of allowing ourselves to be guided by intellectual purpose.
Of course, all ambitious academic careers require strategic planning. However, in Isaiah Hankel’s popular TED Talk, Start with the End in Mind, he explains that defining our vision of the future and simply beginning the journey is far more important than obsessively outlining every step along the way.
Here are two reasons why this approach matters particularly for academics.
1. You will break away from the herd mentality.
Hankel begins his talk by sharing his experience as a sheep herder. One fascinating observation he made is that sheep exhibit strong herd mentality—you only need to get about 5% of sheep moving to prompt the entire flock to follow.
Sheep respond predictably to negative and positive stimuli: frighten them with a stick, and they scatter; entice them with food, and they follow obediently.
Unfortunately, many academics fall into similar behavioral patterns.
Academic behavior is often strongly influenced by departmental and disciplinary cultures. We chase academic “carrots”—pursuing research that guarantees publications in specific journals or appeases particular grant committees.
And we avoid academic “sticks”—steering clear of controversial topics or innovative methodologies that might result in rejection or criticism, rarely straying from what we perceive as the “safe” academic path.
Simply put, fear of academic failure or irrelevance becomes our primary motivation.
When early career academics merely follow the established patterns of their field, they often end up feeling intellectually trapped, which can lead to burnout or even abandoning their scholarly identity. Over time, their conviction to pursue bold, transformative research begins to fade.
They think,
Who am I to think my research questions are any different or more important than what’s already established in the field?
This corrosive mindset stems from losing your original scholarly vision and adopting a departmental herd mentality. When we disconnect from our deeper intellectual purpose—that sense of how our unique scholarly perspective can advance knowledge and benefit humanity—we allow our confidence in our research agenda to be overshadowed by our fear of academic uncertainty.
But if we can remain focused on our intellectual goals and faithful to the scholarly vision that originally inspired us to join academia, we’ll maintain our academic motivation through challenging times.
As the philosopher Hannah Arendt writes in The Human Condition,
“Each time we put something into the world, we begin something new.”
For Arendt, this capacity for beginning anew—what she calls natality—means that each new scholar brings with them not just knowledge, but the possibility of a new perspective that has never before existed.
2. You will feel more energized and resilient against academic adversity.
In his talk, Hankel also shares a fascinating experiment conducted by Curt Richter in the 1950s about rats and the survival instinct.
Richter tested how long rats could swim in water-filled buckets before giving up and sinking. Under normal conditions, rats swam for an average of 15 minutes before surrendering to exhaustion. However, when Richter rescued some rats just before they began to sink and allowed them a brief rest before returning them to the water, these same rats miraculously swam for an average of 60 hours.
The rats that had experienced momentary rescue swam 240 times longer than before. Richter concluded that the key difference was that the second group had experienced what salvation felt like—they had tasted success and were more determined to continue swimming until that future possibility became reality again.
This lesson holds tremendous value for academic life.
Early success in your scholarly journey—whether through a well-received presentation, an accepted publication, a promotion, an award, or meaningful research findings—can sustain you through future challenges. When you believe in the purpose of your research agenda and remain committed to your original scholarly vision, you become more energized and discover hidden reserves of perseverance to withstand academic setbacks.
As educational theorist Parker J. Palmer writes in his influential book The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life,
“We teach who we are.”
Palmer argues that teaching is not merely a technical act but a profoundly personal one, shaped by the identity, values, and inner life of the teacher.
The same is true of scholarship. We research what truly matters to us. What keeps us awake at night, what we cannot stop thinking about. When we stay rooted in our authentic scholarly purpose, we are more likely to find the resilience to weather rejection letters, harsh critiques, and the often impersonal pressures of academic institutions.
Start embracing your scholarly vision today.
Toward the end of his TED Talk, Hankel shares results from a Virginia Tech study indicating that 33% of people who write down their goals will achieve them. Unfortunately, he also reveals that less than 1% of people document their goals and review them consistently.
What makes writing down your scholarly vision so powerful?
Documenting your academic goals represents a first step toward scholarly intention. It’s a commitment to yourself about the researcher and educator you aspire to become. And neuroscience supports this. Writing down goals activates the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for decision-making, planning, and goal-directed behavior. This small act of documentation helps prime the brain for action, making it easier to identify and pursue opportunities aligned with those goals.
Moreover, once you define clear objectives for your scholarly future, you simultaneously begin to identify ways to leverage existing relationships and unnoticed opportunities to help you advance. When your vision moves from the recesses of your mind into your active awareness, you begin to recognize pathways all around that can help you reach your academic destination.
This is because your brain, particularly the reticular activating system (RAS), becomes more attuned to the things you focus on—almost like setting a mental GPS. Your attention narrows and amplifies the importance of the opportunities that align with your vision.
As philosophy professor and educational theorist Maxine Greene observed in her work Releasing the Imagination: Essays on Education, the Arts, and Social Change:
“Imagination is what enables us to cross the empty spaces between ourselves and those we teachers have called ‘other’ over the years. If those others are willing to give us clues, we can look in some manner through strangers’ eyes and hear through their ears.”
Your scholarly imagination operates similarly, helping you bridge the gap between your current position and your academic aspirations. When you write down your goals and align them with your curiosity, you create a powerful feedback loop: the brain becomes attuned to ideas and opportunities that might otherwise remain hidden.
Write down your academic vision, and allow your intellectual curiosity to guide you down meaningful research paths. By doing so, you strengthen the neural connections that support not only your goals but your ability to perceive and act on the opportunities that help you realize them.
Without a clear scholarly purpose, you risk finding yourself on an academic treadmill—publishing without passion, teaching without purpose, and serving without fulfillment—drifting toward an intellectual dead end with no clear vision of where you’re headed.
Practical Steps for Early Career Academics
As we head into summer, it’s the perfect time to step back from the usual academic hustle and focus on intentional growth. Summer can be a time for reflection, recalibration, and setting the stage for the next phase of your scholarly journey.
So, here’s some homework to keep you busy during “summer school”—practical steps that will help you deepen your academic purpose and make the most of the opportunity for reflection and realignment.
These actions are designed to ensure that you don’t just work harder, but that you work smarter, with clarity and intention.
Schedule a personal academic retreat: Set aside a full day to reconnect with your original research questions and scholarly purpose.
Create a “scholarly purpose statement”: In one paragraph, articulate the unique contribution you hope your research will make to your field and to humanity.
Identify your academic “non-negotiables”: List the research questions or approaches you refuse to abandon regardless of tenure pressures.
Find your intellectual community: Connect with scholars who share your vision, even if they’re outside your department or institution.
Establish quarterly vision reviews: Schedule regular times to assess whether your daily academic work aligns with your larger scholarly purpose.
Remember, the academy needs your unique voice and perspective.
Don’t let the pressures of tenure track conformity silence the questions only you can ask and the insights only you can contribute.
Keep swimming against the current!
Becoming Full,
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