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Evaluating progress by comparing myself to This Time Last Year’s Version of Me

Within the field of political science, I consider myself a comparativist, more than a specialist in international relations. Most of the work I have done has been within comparative politics and comparative public policy. Therefore, it’s natural that I seek to contrast across cases. The problem is that often times, I compare myself with others, which as many people have said, really does not help with self-esteem and fosters an impostor syndrome. That’s why so many people have said that “comparison is the thief of joy”. Well, not so true for my scholarly research, but it certainly is for my professional life.

Truth be told, I have found that comparing myself to This Time Last Year’s Version of Me is a much more helpful approach.

I see how much I have grown this year and I am amazed and grateful.

So that’s what I would recommend others to do. Don’t compare yourself to others, see how much you’ve grown within a year.

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Posted in academia.


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