Do Half of Your Peers Seem Smarter Than You? That's Great!

"Many grad students erroneously assume they should expect to be top of their class or else they are not smart. Successful people tend to aim to be surrounded by people who challenge them. People who are finding it too easy to be the “best” are probably not learning as effectively as they could."

"The good news is that now that you are in grad school, you are probably surrounded by more like-minded people than ever before. At least this could be good news if you look at it the right way. But if you look at it the wrong way, this could be terrible news-veritable torture, in fact. Why? Because you have probably spent years building your self-esteem through comparing yourself to others and coming up on top. This means that once you can't easily substantiate a conclusion that you are smarter than your peers, your self-esteem begins silently convulsing in horror."

"Here is a fact that may not be surprising but is often overlooked: The best place for learning is not the one where you are the smartest. Neither is it the place where you are way behind the rest. The sweet spot for learning is where you are in the middle, with some people who might be able to learn from you and some people who can teach you something and occasionally light a fire under you to try harder."

Many graduate students assume they should be at the top of their class or conclude they are not smart. Years of building self-esteem through outperforming peers can make it feel threatening when they cannot easily prove they are the smartest. Graduate school often places students among similarly driven peers, which can either motivate or create pressure and “torture” when comparison-based confidence collapses. The best learning environment is not where someone is the smartest or where they are far behind. The most effective learning happens in the middle, with peers who can teach, learn from, and occasionally push effort higher. If being “best” feels too easy, learning may be less effective than it could be.

Read at Psychology Today