What Makes You Strange Might Be What Makes You Brilliant

R3ciprocity.com - Prof David Maslach: Innovation; Research Life; Striving Towards Happiness · Oct 25, 2025 · 9m

My dad used to sit in the backyard and just watch his garden.

No phone. No emails. Just stillness.

It never made sense to me when I was younger—how he could be happy with just that.

But now I understand.

He wasn’t chasing anything.

He had arrived.

In academia—and in so many elite careers—we’re trained to chase.

Chase status.

Chase metrics.

Chase recognition from people we don’t even know.

I feel that pull every day.

This deep, unshakable urge to be part of the most prestigious schools.

To be recognized as “one of the best.”

To earn a seat at the imagined table.

Even when my life is full—

A…