Academic validation is controlling you
On how to cope with academic pressure (from a former burntout student)
I was always an A* student, never earning below 90% in any test or assignment. So when I got my first B, it was an earth-shattering moment. It’s a sign, my brain screamed at me, You’re going to be a failure in life. How could you have ever been stupid enough to believe you could succeed? Dramatic, I know, but that was the reality that I was living in and many other students are living in to.
This, my friends, is what we call academic validation.
What is academic validation?
Academic validation occurs when a student relates their self-worth to their grades - identity, happiness and self-esteem become closely interlinked with academic achievements. It can occur as an unhealthy consequence of academic praise from parents, teachers and peers. It’s often very stereotypically associated with Asian households (and has inspired entire youtube channels like the one below), however is not exclusive to any group. Working hard and achieving as much as possible academically is often glorified in books and movies, but can it be dangerous?
Academic validation in books and movies
Many students look up to book and movie characters as ‘academic role models’. The iconic trio that falls within this category and have provided motivation for countless students include:
📖 Hermione Granger (Harry Potter): A truly iconic character in book and movie history who really needs no introduction. Throughout all 7 books (and 8 movies), her personality is centred around her brilliance and intelligence. She was always striving to be the best that she could be and to meet her own expectations of herself, rather than aiming to outcompete others (although she always did anyway).
📖 Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls): Rory is a quiet bookworm, but also full of energy that she channels into her academics, a part of her life that she particularly excels in. Throughout the entire show, she demonstrates her desire and motivation to work hard and to be at the top of her class. She is always seen reading a book, studying for her next test or talking about how she can’t hang out because she needs to review her study materials.
📖 Elle Woods (Legally Blonde): It would be impossible to mention academic inspiration from media without Elle Woods. She is the picture-perfect definition of ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ as she starts of being a typical sorority girl (although already showing immense leadership skills) and only demonstrates her full potential when a break up (with a jackass of a boyfriend) fills her with the motivation to get into Harvard Law School.
However, the line between role model and academic validation monsters is increasingly blurry.
P.S. my personal favourite fictional academic role model/academic validation monster is Paris Geller (Gilmore Girls).
📖 Paris Geller (Gilmore Girls): Paris’s extreme dedication to school and every project she takes on is unmatched. Unlike Rory, her over-achieving attitude seems to impacts her more visibly and she is known for her ridiculously high stress levels (which makes her all that much more relatable). She also has some of the most iconic quotes of the show including": "I want to live my life so that I'll be able to read an in-depth biography of myself in later years and not want to puke."
The problem with academic validation
Watching these iconic characters achieve their wildest dreams can be the spark of inspiration and motivation to get you going. Academic validation has its perks. I’ve done some of my best work under the pressure to be perfect.
However, there seems to be a misconception that in order to not only be the best version of yourself, but the best of the best, this requires you to struggle as much as possible. This craving for academic validation in the face of struggle stems from a fear of failure and rejection. But how do you know when academic validation starts becoming toxic?
A 2020 study found that 68.8% of students find tests and assessments to be a major source of stress. More specifically, a study in 2019 found that academic validation correlates with poor mental health, including links with increased rates of anxiety, depression, substance use, low-quality sleep and stress/burnout.
So if the need for academic validation leads to stress and anxiety, how can we break out of this vicious cycle?
How to overcome academic validation
I’ll be the first to admit that breaking away from needing validation from parents, teachers and peers can feel nearly impossible. Even if your sense of academic validation leads to pride rather than stress, it’s important to avoid equating your self-worth with your academic performance. Here are a few steps you can take:
Determine if your need for validation is intrinsic or extrinsic. Determining where your need for academic validation stems from is the first step in challenging this mindset. If you’re not sure, start to pay attention to how others react to your grades. Notice if your teacher makes a hurtful comment about your grade, if your parents tell you to work harder next time or if your peers make you feel bad for your result. However, if those around you are supportive, your need for validation may be intrinsic, or in other words, coming from your own expectations that you place on yourself.
Acknowledge your efforts, even if they aren't immediately reflected in grades. Switch your mindset from grades (i.e. outcomes) to values and habits (i.e. inputs). Instead of wanting to achieve the best grade, focus on learning as much as you can and doing your best. Instead of wanting people to think of you as smart, begin valuing kindness more.
Challenge feelings of stress with rationality. One way to acknowledge your efforts is through the use of rationality. For example, when you’ve been studying for multiple hours/days for an upcoming test, rather than letting the feelings of anxiety take over, repeat to yourself that you’ve studied for X number of hours, you’ve reviewed all of the practice questions or you’ve check over answers with your friends. By directly contradicting feelings of stress and failure with facts, you can begin to take control of your anxiety levels.
Avoid comparing yourself with others. We often put unnecessary pressure on ourselves by trying to be like others and ‘out-compete’ them. However, everyone is unique in their strengths and weaknesses, as well as their personal circumstances. If someone achieves a better grade in a test, that doesn’t necessarily reflect on their intelligence. That person may have had no distractions, challenges or other commitments in the past week. The only person that is an accurate comparison for you is you.
Pick up some new hobbies. It can be particularly hard not to tie our self-worth to our grades, when the only thing we spend our time on is studying. Because of that, a great way to move away from this harmful mindset is to dedicate time to pursue hobbies and goals outside of academics. This will not only help you to develop an identity outside of your academic life, but also prevent you from burning yourself to the ground.
Realise that ‘perfect’ doesn’t exist. One of my favourite videos is Hank Green’s ‘The Secret to Productivity’ in which he talks about how he manages his expectations of himself when working on projects, saying that instead of aiming for 100% effort, he aims for 80% simply because ‘the perfect project doesn’t exist’.
Be kind to yourself. Sometimes you won’t study as much as you wanted to for that test or you won’t work as hard as you could have for that assignment, and that’s okay. Maybe you’re sick, or you haven’t been feeling yourself lately, or maybe you have personal circumstances that are in the way of you being able to focus. Or maybe you’re burnt out or overwhelmed. And that’s okay. I’ll repeat: That’s okay. Academics are not more important than your wellbeing, and it’s important to know when to take a step back.
A few more videos/articles on academic validation worth reading
Faye Bate talks about why being a 'smart' child ruined your life and how she got into med school after failing her A levels
UnJaded Jade discusses how she stopped attaching grades to her sense of self worth
Overcoming the obsession with academic validation isn’t easy, nor do I think it’s meant to be. All of us have an innate desire to be validated, but it’s important not to sacrifice your wellbeing for unattainable academic validation.
Do you struggle with academic validation? How did you overcome it?
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I couldn’t leave a comment on the post about passing your med school finals (read it first because the title grabbed me), so I’ll drop it here. Congrats! That’s an accomplishment beyond words. (You are right that you’re in for a lot of responsibility, but you seem to be processing it healthily and well, which is a good sign it won’t prove too much for you.) And thanks for liking my post. The description for your newsletter looks familiar, though.