As an aspiring researcher, I would like to make my writing better.
Because what I really want is to get my ideas across without having to spend countless hours translating them from mind to paper.
So you’re right.
That’s the reason why I keep writing every day, even if I don’t like it. Because I consider the process the main thing and winning just come along with it as I strive to become better at putting my ideas out there in the world.
And doing your work isn’t an isolated endeavor too. It takes a community that encourages you to show up and supports you to become the person you are still to become.
Here’s a good story from The Creative Curve:
In 1931, Maria Goeppert Mayer was spending the summer working with the famed physicist Max Born, who would be awarded a Nobel himself in 1954. Together the two of them authored a paper entitled “Dynamic Lattice Theory of Crystals.” Senior researchers often work with younger scientists off the final paper. For younger colleagues, it’s considered part of “paying your dues.” But most future Noble laureates told Harriet Zuckerman (a researcher) that their mentors did the exact opposite–they not only shared credit, they often gave the younger scholars more credit. As Zuckerman writes, “Eminent masters exercised noblesse oblige not only by lengthening the bibliographies of their young associates (granting them joint authorship) but often by heightening the visibility of the junior contributions to the research in arranging to have their names appear first in the list of authors.” In some cases, the master would even take their own name off the paper, leaving sole credit to the mentee.
It turns out it wasn’t that the laureates were truly as productive as other academics, but rather that they worked for mentors who tended to share credit. This led to what is commonly called a “cumulative advantage,” which is simply the idea that early advantages compound and can lead to large differences over time. By the time they reached their thirties, these young academics were better-known than other researchers, making it much harder for those researchers to catch up.
These future laureates had been boosted by others who were already credible. Senior researchers gave them clout and a foundation with which to build an advantage.
As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for the people who gave me the benefit of the doubt. And most importantly, if not from the favor that comes from the Lord.
I don’t have many academic papers out there (yet) but I have one to show you. You can check it out here.
And if you want to become the person you’d be proud of 10 years from now, begin to do the things that will lead you there. Start your journey today.
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jessa 