#MESSAGES FROM THE MASTERS SCIENTIC PROFESSIONAL#

Psychological rewards are the important currency along the way, with a marked tolerance for uncertainty regarding more tangible payoffs down the road. But the more common and emphatic observation we heard is the belief that they could make more money doing other things вЂ“ a sense of sacrifice in the name of the goal. Pecuniary rewards do motivate, of course, and the long-term goal pursuers we spoke with did mention dreams of a big payoff down the road. Just as persistence isn't everything, neither is money. These 'possible selves,' as we label them, are motivated by the prospect of finding new truths, having their beliefs confirmed, overcoming obstacles and becoming known for seizing rare opportunities. They envision not only impacts on others, but a sense of how they themselves may be changed by pursuit of the goal. The people in our study spoke of moon landings, the Wright Brothers, climbing Mount Everest and 'doing it the same way Darwin did.' People find additional motivation by invoking symbols, metaphors and historical allegories to give life to these envisioned futures.

#MESSAGES FROM THE MASTERS SCIENTIC PROFESSIONAL#

This can include not just contributions to their professional or scientific disciplines, but broader impacts on people, societies and future generations. In terms of the future, individuals pursuing very long-term goals sustain motivation by envisioning possible futures that result from the work they are doing. Social and professional cachet matters as well: gaining recognition from peers, working with prestigious others, being first to the goal and ultimately having a chance to prove skeptics wrong. Long-run motivation is also juiced by perceptions that the work alongside the waiting is challenging, risky, surprising and fun. A learning mindset is crucial, because orienting oneself solely toward accomplishing the task leads people to avoid or give up on difficult goals when performance payoffs don't materialize quickly. In their present circumstances, people who persevere are deeply interested in their work, exploiting opportunities to apply their expertise, acquire knowledge, and make intermediate discoveries along the way. We learned from our data that people mine several sources of motivation that sustain them for the long haul, some rooted in what is going on in the present, and some located in thoughts about the future. We interviewed professionals (researchers as well as administrators) in various fields вЂ“ biomedical science, nanotechnology, astronomy, biodiversity and others вЂ“ whose work meets three criteria: goals with decades-long time horizons, very slow progress along the way and significant chance of failure. Until, that is, our research on how people stay motivated when goals take not just years but decades to reach. Very little of this work, however, looks at goals and motivation beyond short time spans. We know, for instance, that specific, challenging and attainable goals motivate in the short run, and we know that short-term goals are more motivating than long-term goals. Much is known about the psychology of goals: decades of research have shed light on how and why goals motivate task performance in all sorts of settings. Many lines of work involve balancing short-term demands with long-run hopes and strategies, and the tension between the two has a lengthy provenance in the study of management among both academics and practitioners. The pursuit of long-term goals poses challenges relevant to professionals in a variety of work settings, not just space scientists on a Pluto mission. Patience is, as they say, a virtue, and we admire Andy Cheng's copious reserves of it, but we suspect there's more to it than that. WeвЂ™ll be here waiting for you in the morningвЂ¦ for years on end.

Messages from the masters scientic