On Self-Determination Theory
Components for thriving under stress and uncertainty
Coaches often expose athletes to stress or uncertainty to simulate the unpredictability of a race. As with things like sleep or nutrition, preparing for stress is absent from the training of researchers. Uncertainty is not unique to research, though advancing science comes with frequently being wrong. I have neither the wisdom nor the experience of a senior researcher, I can still reflect on what enabled me to manage, horribile dictu, thrive under stress.
Let me recall my last post-deadline experience. The scene is set late at night in the lab, with a bunch of us eating pizza and chatting. What made this event special was not a special pizza topping but a thought popping up in my mind:
Despite the tiredness, I was happy. Even more, I would not have exchanged my place with anyone else on Earth.
Research is my passion, and the ecosystem of my doctoral programme is exceptional, but neither of these explains my feelings. Why would someone react to a longer stretch of hard work with contentment?
The argument that follows is not about glorifying hustle culture. I've been there, done that. It doesn't work. Reflecting on my experience and listening to stories from peers led me to Self-determination Theory (SDT). SDT posits that having
autonomy,
mastery, and
belonging1
helps build resilience and motivation. These three components provide a stable grounding to withstand obstacles.
Autonomy
Autonomy signals trust that you can (learn to) accomplish your tasks. Calling the shots—corresponding to your skill level—also gives you a sense of control. Hopefully you have a mentor who metes out the appropriate challenges. You probably hate micromanagers because they deprive you of autonomy—not necessarily out of bad intentions, but perhaps due to the fear of letting you down. This is a fine line to walk and requires ample foresight.
Autonomy also means not being ruled by an external force (a deadline). Though some deadlines are inevitable, especially in larger organizations,
the intrinsic value of something cannot be determined by an extrinsic construct.
Your science can be great despite your paper getting rejected—you should self-reflect to have this opinion. But always remember: You are not your work.
Mastery
From carpenters to software engineers, people seek better means to do their jobs. A PhD, almost by definition, comes with the promise of mastery as you go to the frontier of your field. But you do not linger there; you push forward where no one was before. This makes you feel special, but only if you do the work to constantly improve your game.
Achieving mastery can be a means to an end, though the meaning of it all often boils down to belonging. A perhaps surprising side effect of being on the path towards mastery is learning the scope of your ignorance2, and realizing that your expertise is best used by serving the community to advance science together. Including paying forward the advice you got from your mentors.
Belonging
Mastery and autonomy do not imply that you will push through hard times or that you will select the hard way. Meaning does. As Viktor Frankl wrote in his famous Man’s Search for Meaning, most people derive meaning from their family or community. If you are fortunate enough to have colleagues who are more than colleagues, then the feeling of mutual support and the fear of letting each other down can propel you to unimaginable heights.
Asking the right questions
My quest of figuring out what can make me thrive under stress—as with the most rewarding topics—lead me to many more questions than answers. These might help you figure out how to create an environment that enables you to thrive under stress and uncertainty—and, most importantly, one that nurtures motivation and resilience in others.
What makes hard work rewarding?
How do you manage externally imposed requirements?
What is a healthy way to approach knowledge work/research?
How do you thrive under stress without falling apart?
How do you handle the inevitable failure?
And how do you share these insights with your peers and the next generation? That is, how do you make yourself superfluous?
Dig Deeper
Acknowledgements
This post was inspired by an insightful question I came across at The Growth Equation Academy.
Meaning a sense of community
In the sense Stuart Firestein uses it in his book Ignorance: How It Drives Science, and not in the colloquial sense.