When I stepped on campus as an undergraduate, I had the eye of the tiger. I felt determined to succeed, to the extent that I had eliminated failure as a possibility entirely. My primary motivation was showing them they were wrong about me. Who were they? Well... that's a good question. It was not my parents or family; they had high expectations but were also incredibly supportive and believed in me. It may have been the faculty, but all five of my professors that semester were very good. I developed strong relationships with all of them that would last past the semester; two became such great mentors that I am still in contact with both of them to this day. My classmates then, they would be the ones I would prove wrong! Well, except for the ones that I would work and commiserate with- which was most of them.
To be completely honest, I never really found a "them" that I thought I had to prove my talent to. Sure, there was the occasional jerky professor, but for the most part everyone I encountered on campus really believed in me and was super supportive. Your mileage may vary, but I am optimistic that most universities have enough kind and decent people on campus that this is the case often. One of the most important lessons I learned as a student was that the world was not against me, and I needed to calm the heck down. My initial attitude of being the lower-middle class kid with a chip on their shoulder who would shut up all the doubters by making the most of their college opportunity quickly and thankfully gave way to one of collaboration.
My favorite students are still those who feel they have something to prove. Whether it comes to the first-generation college student, those coming from an underrepresented family, or just inherent stubbornness, students with a chip on their shoulder are easy to motivate. Motivation is in short supply after the pandemic. What I try to do as an advisor, and my purpose for writing this article, is emphasize that the *chip* is good, but the energy behind it needs to be positive, not negative.
When we talk about having a chip on our shoulder, it is usually in reference to overcoming some obstacle to change the impression we perceive people have about us. The energy is great, but so much more useful if we can direct it in a positive direction. This is particularly true because the impression we perceive people have of us is often not true, and carrying with us angst against some unknown villain is more draining than energizing. It causes us to be defensive, to look at our peers as competitors and our professors as bosses at the end of the level.
To this day, I still have that same chip on my shoulder. Failure, in whatever the endeavor is, still does not exist as a possibility. However, I am no longer out to prove anyone wrong or show anyone just how good I am. Rather, I am motivated by a responsibility to those who have helped me get where I am today. If I need a little bit more juice, I just think about my friends, family, professors, and/or students. There are people in my life who have invested in me who I owe it to achieve everything I possibly can. It would be tragic if I failed to pay forward the support my own professors gave me to my own students. The chip is still there, but now the emphasis is on working for someone, rather than against something.
My sources of inspiration are my own, but everyone should have someone or at least an ideal to work for. If you truly feel you have no one to make proud or work hard for, then at the very least work to put yourself in the position you can one day be that person for someone else. There is nothing wrong with being "chippy" and taking yourself seriously. But framing that mindset positively is a much more freeing experience, and allows students to think collaboratively and in terms of community. When the mindset is negative, and the student is always fighting against something, they often hinder their own progress. They shut out those who would help them with new opportunities or make their work a bit easier, all because of some (usually arbitrary) perception that that person or community is looking down on them.
So, keep that chip on your shoulder. Stay motivated and chase after bigger and bigger goals. But do it for those who depend on you or otherwise want to see you succeed. Don't envision yourself towering over faceless foes. Rather, stay driven by the thought of the party you can throw when you finally cross the finish line.
