Stop Competing with Others
Many students believe that competing with others and striving to outperform their peers is an effective way to increase motivation and productivity.
At times, seeing others perform well can create a healthy sense of peer pressure and provide incentive to make progress on your dissertation. However, competition often becomes unhealthy and counterproductive.
When Comparison Turns Toxic
I frequently see students caught in constant comparison with their peers. They may:
Feel good when they outperform others
Feel acceptable only when their performance is comparable
Feel discouraged or inadequate when others outperform them
This cycle keeps students stuck in a mode of proving themselves, believing they must be more intelligent or competent than their peers in order to be seen as capable.
What Competition Really Reinforces
Unhealthy competition sends several problematic messages:
You need to be better than someone else to be worthy
Your intelligence and competence are limited
Academic success is a zero-sum game
At its core, competition often reflects deeper concerns about adequacy and fear about whether you have what it takes to earn a PhD.
Competition also reinforces the belief that intelligence is fixed and finite. If intelligence were fixed, then outperforming others might feel necessary for validation.
The Incremental Mindset Alternative
If you hold an incremental mindset, competition loses its power.
With an incremental view of intelligence:
You believe you can learn and grow more competent over time
There is no need to prove yourself by outperforming others
Your progress is measured against your own growth, not others’ performance
Rather than wasting energy on comparison, you can invest that energy in learning, practicing, and improving.
How Competition Undermines Productivity
Constant comparison drains your mental and emotional resources. You may find yourself:
Distracted by how others are doing
Preoccupied with measuring up
Less focused on your own work
This worry consumes energy that could otherwise be used to make steady progress on your dissertation.
Redirect Your Energy Where It Matters
Instead of competing with others, redirect your attention toward:
Your own goals
The steps required to meet those goals
Your personal pace and process
When you focus on yourself, you reclaim the energy lost to comparison and anxiety. This shift allows you to work more productively and sustainably.
Your dissertation is not a competition. It is an individual intellectual journey. Staying focused on your own path will serve you far better than trying to measure yourself against others.
This article was written by Alison Miller, PhD, founder of The Dissertation Coach, a business dedicated to helping doctoral and master’s students successfully earn their graduate degrees.