Soulful Strides to Promotion & Tenure (Jan. 2025)
Building Your Snowman
January brought in a winter storm and lots of snow and ice to much of the central states and the east coast. Living in Georgia, I don’t get to see snow that often, so it is always a big deal. Regardless of whether you are accustomed to the snow or not, there is a small part of us that feels compelled to build a snowman. And the beauty of building these snow people is that no two look alike. Well..they may have the basic body of “Frosty,” but everything else is purely up to the designer. Building snow people is probably one of the few “life builds” where we don’t compare our product to others in terms of better or worse. We compare for the sake of seeing and celebrating the differences. Imagine that.
The phrase “comparison is the thief of joy” is often credited to Theodore Roosevelt, and he was absolutely onto something. When we compare ourselves to others, we’re essentially measuring our happiness and success against a distorted yardstick. But comparison is second nature in almost every aspect of our lives.
During this professional journey, there will be many occasions where the comparison thief will attempt to break in and take it all. You know, occasions such as presentations, collaborative writing, and even receiving grant funding. That thief will pull up a chair and start talking. However, in 2025, it’s high time we locked our doors and told that thief to kick rocks, get lost, and keep it moving.
But how do we stop? It’s easier said than done, right? One of the best ways to break the comparison cycle is to focus on gratitude and joy. Instead of fixating on what we lack or “think” we lack, let’s take stock of what we have. Maybe you were denied grant funding, but the reviewers encourage you to resubmit with the recommendations. Maybe you didn’t get the nod for the department chair position, but you can take professional development on academic leadership in your own time. Or maybe your third-year review wasn’t as great as you had hoped, you can take the comments and decide how you want to move forward. When we focus on gratitude and joy instead of comparing ourselves to others, we can make decisions that are in our best interest - not the world around us. Furthermore, when you’re busy appreciating your own journey, there’s less room for the thief to walk into the house and pull up a chair.
At the end of the day, comparing yourself to others is like running a race where everyone’s on a different track. It’s exhausting, pointless, and robs you of enjoying your own pace. So, the next time you feel that familiar pang of comparison, remind yourself: their journey is theirs, and yours is yours. Stop letting the thief of joy sneak in through the back door. Lock your door, focus on your professional journey - the beautiful uniquely you P&T journey, and go build that snowman. That’s where the real joy is.
“It was when I realized I needed to stop trying to be somebody else and be myself, I actually started to own, accept and love what I had.”