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What Bob Dylan sang 47 years ago is still true – especially for the scientific endeavor.

We can see many signs of changes occurring on the US side of the pond:

• States continue to cut university budgets, telling them to get more grants from the feds to make up for the difference
• The feds grapple with their own issues, such as political posturing along with honest-to-goodness problems like a deficit the size of the Grand Canyon.
• Government funding agencies feel squeezed, so programs dictate ever more specific outcomes while tightening budgets like a screw.  I know someone who is part of a big program grant tightly controlled by the institute at NIH.  Recently, the NIH cut the budget across the board by 36%, yet the rigorously defined program goals remain the same.  On top of it, the institute just announced that what was originally a five-year grant is now subject to a 3-year program-wide review, meaning that the program must have substantial results after 2 years (again, with a more than 1/3 cut in the budget).
• In response to that scenario, I heard another colleague comment: “the only antidote is to do really good science and lots of it.”  I found myself agreeing, until I had a moment of insight: what is “good science?”  Is “good science” something that can be determined by a committee, in advance, according to rigorously defined guidelines? Methinks that’s a bit of a stretch, particularly if one considers how most major (Nobel type) discoveries have come about.  It’s decidedly not by committee – it’s usually by one or a few people making hay with a serendipitous discovery of some kind or another.  Serendipity is unlikely to occur if the terms under which science is done are rigorously defined, in advance.  “we’re too busy to look into that aberration in our data, we’ve got to deliver the goods before our funding is yanked!”  Yet perhaps that aberration was the key to the next big discovery…
• Young folk are looking at all of this and saying to themselves: “Science careers are insane.”  And they are not altogether wrong in that.

But I’m not here to moan and groan on about how bad it is.” That’s about the singularly most unproductive activity that any human on this planet could spend time on.

Instead I bring this up to make a point.  There are really only two responses anyone can have:

a) Ignore it, stick your head in the sand, and hope it goes away. I saw a lot of that kind of thinking when Obama was first elected.  The mantra was “we now have a president who supports science, things will get better.”  I was sitting on the sidelines, whispering to those who would listen: no, things won’t get better, because deep structural issues have developed at multiple levels of the system: from the bureaucracy that plagues departments and universities all the way up to the ginormous debts that most countries have around their necks.  The point is, how much longer is it possible to bury one’s head in the sand?  It probably won’t last much longer before the proverbial SHTF.

b) Decide to take action to adapt to the changes, making the very best of the circumstances. Realize that the more adaptable and flexible you become, the better off you will be. 

If we step back and consider all change throughout history, our own drama is but a tiny blip.  Yes, it is easy to get caught up in our drama, and I do have plenty of firsthand experience with how real and pressing it seems.  But there is always another solution out there, if only we take the time to do a metaanalysis of what really makes us happy in life, and figure out how we can adapt to make it so.

Am I suggesting that you run out the door of the science lab and don’t come back?  Not necessarily.  That might be a solution for some, but for others it could be simply a matter of finding new ways to make more out of less in the situations they’re already in.

If we step back and look at why most people are in science careers, it probably involves some combination of these elements:

• Deriving meaning, and contributing to the big questions
• Enjoyment of the actual doing of the science
• The recognition that comes from others for being a scientist (a double-edged sword)
• Being a bit of a closet geek, who feels more comfortable in a lab coat than at a dinner party

(We can eliminate big paychecks or social popularity from the equation right off the bat.)

Looking at the list above, we might ask: are there other ways than the standard, frenetic treadmill by which to obtain these core elements of happiness (or mental peace)?

You’ll have to look inside to really answer that question.  I can tell you in my own experience that the answer is an emphatic yes.  I’m not saying it’s easy.  But sticking your head in the sand won’t be an easy solution in the long run, either.  You’ll probably find yourself like some of my colleagues—ever more worn-down, like the over-application of a whetstone to a knife. Eventually there will nothing left… then what?

So here are some few ways to you might deal with this, if you decide not to opt for the stick-the-head-in-the-sand route:

1. Take time to deeply analyze what makes you happy in life, and consider that there is probably more than just one way to reach that happiness
2. Don’t get caught up in the “status game” unless you’re sure that it really makes you happy.  From talking to my father before he died, he played that game at a high level (high profile publications and awards all along the way). Looking back at his life, he was proud, but he was far more proud of the non-career things, like how he had raised his kids, and the adventures he went on.  Only seek out status symbols (e.g. that position in the Ivy leagues) if it gets you to your real goal, which is peace of mind and happiness.
3. Have some perspective on the challenges you may face.  Yes, times are not as easy as they were – but if we compare our current challenges to how the vast majority of the population has lived throughout history (or how the vast majority of humans live even now), we have it easy.
4. Be innovative.  It’s an overused word, but that doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant.  Innovators are the people who will carry the day over the long haul. (Especially innovators who can communicate their innovations effectively!)
5. Be proactive and present.  Realize that if you let yourself get into a position where all you’re doing is putting out fires, you will be caught in a trap, and in that trap you’ll go down with the sinking ship.  By being proactive and present, you’re ready when changes happen, rather than running around like that poor chicken who’s missing its mental member.

And, finally, if you’re into learning more about how to achieve real happiness and success in your life/career, and you’d like to hear from me when I post articles like this, then head over to my blog and subscribe to my newsletter. It’s that big box on the upper left.