Today’s rival is next year’s lab partner. Leave room in every bridge.
REFLECTION
WHAT THIS MEANS
Roles change faster than feelings about people do. Whoever you are competing with now is in your field, at your stage, with your interests, which is exactly the description of a future colleague, collaborator or reference. Rivalry is mostly a temporary arrangement of circumstances.
Compete hard and keep it clean, which are not in conflict. Say the fair thing about them in public, congratulate what deserves it, and avoid the remark you would have to explain later. In a few years you will be glad the line is still open, and so will they.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
Which classmate are you competing with who could help you later?
MORE IN MEANING & PERSPECTIVE
- Chess players fight for the center squares. Your center is sleep, food, and focus. Hold those and the edges follow.
- Small wins stacked quietly for a year look like a miracle to people who weren’t watching.
- Revenge costs you time, sleep, and headspace, and the receipt is always bigger than you expected.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.