On the potential
Nov. 14th, 2025 10:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
posicScott D. Clary writes in Facebook -- https://www.facebook.com/scottdclarypage/posts/pfbid025AFgsYuRC1SAKzGd5kftjXYdug2StQSQXkmckwMMkRnyiUiQKKfgZ7gtJRPJpy8yl :
A reality check about your potential: You're not reaching your potential because you're comfortable with disappointment. You've normalized mediocrity. Made peace with "good enough." Convinced yourself that wanting more is greedy. But here's the thing: playing small doesn't serve anyone. Not your family. Not your community. Not yourself. Your potential has an expiration date. Use it or lose it. Comfort today is regret tomorrow.
***
I am not playing small, not at all. Just not playing by the rules almost everyone else is playing. My papers aren't mediocre, but I've normalized publishing them in journals where mediocre papers are generally published. I've made peace with that, if my refereeing boycott policy can be called "peace". No, I don't think that wanting more is greedy. It's just incompatible with the goals I actually have. Surely I know that my potential has an expiration date. That's why I want to use it for really important purposes before it expires. Getting published in prestigious journals is not really important.
A reality check about your potential: You're not reaching your potential because you're comfortable with disappointment. You've normalized mediocrity. Made peace with "good enough." Convinced yourself that wanting more is greedy. But here's the thing: playing small doesn't serve anyone. Not your family. Not your community. Not yourself. Your potential has an expiration date. Use it or lose it. Comfort today is regret tomorrow.
***
I am not playing small, not at all. Just not playing by the rules almost everyone else is playing. My papers aren't mediocre, but I've normalized publishing them in journals where mediocre papers are generally published. I've made peace with that, if my refereeing boycott policy can be called "peace". No, I don't think that wanting more is greedy. It's just incompatible with the goals I actually have. Surely I know that my potential has an expiration date. That's why I want to use it for really important purposes before it expires. Getting published in prestigious journals is not really important.
