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We're constantly navigating high expectations, intellectual challenges, tight deadlines, and often a creeping sense of uncertainty about whether we’re “cut out” for this. It’s no surprise that stress and self-doubt are frequent companions. But what if the key to thriving isn’t avoiding stress or pretending to be confident—but learning how to work with stress and see growth as a dynamic, ongoing process?

Research in social psychology suggests that both how we interpret stress and how we view our abilities can dramatically shape our academic journey. Psychologist Dr. Jeremy Jamieson’s work on stress optimization shows that stress isn’t inherently bad—it can actually boost performance if we see it as a challenge rather than a threat. Meanwhile, Dr. Cameron Hecht’s research on growth mindsets highlights how believing in our ability to learn and improve fosters resilience and long-term success, especially in demanding environments.

Together, these insights offer a powerful reframe for graduate students. Instead of fearing stress or doubting our place, we can learn to see stress as a tool and ourselves as capable of continued growth. To explore how, I spoke with Dr. Jamieson and Dr. Hecht, whose research offers practical strategies for turning pressure into progress.

Interview with Dr. Jeremy Jamieson: Understanding and Optimizing Stress

Q: Stress is often seen as something to minimize or avoid, but your research suggests otherwise. Can you explain the concept of stress optimization and why it’s important for academic success?

A: Stress optimization is the idea that stress isn’t inherently harmful but can be harnessed to improve performance and resilience. Stress is simply the body's response to a demand, and whether it helps or hinders depends on how we interpret it. Rather than viewing stress as something to avoid, stress optimization encourages people to engage with it productively. Research has shown that students who reframe their stress responses as helpful—seeing an increased heart rate or rapid breathing as signs that their body is preparing to perform—experience better physiological responses and improved academic performance. This approach allows graduate students to use stress as fuel for focus, perseverance, and achievement rather than something to suppress or fear.

Q: Your research explores how different appraisals of stress impact performance and well-being. Can you explain what a resource vs. demand appraisal is and how grad students can shift toward a resource-oriented perspective?

A: People appraise stress by weighing demands (e.g., difficulty, time commitment, personal stakes) against resources (e.g., knowledge, skills, support). When resources outweigh demands, people experience challenge, thinking, I can handle this. When demands exceed resources, they experience threat, leading to a defensive response.

Graduate students can shift toward a resource-oriented perspective by:

• Recognizing prior successes—reminding themselves of similar challenges they’ve overcome.
• Reframing stress symptoms (e.g., a racing heart) as performance-enhancing rather than debilitating.
• Seeking support and preparation—building skills and leveraging resources to increase confidence in handling academic pressures.

Q: How can graduate students use their physiological responses to stress (e.g., increased heart rate, tension) as a tool rather than seeing these signs as negative?

A: Physiological stress responses—such as increased heart rate, rapid breathing, and sweating—are often interpreted as signs of anxiety or failure. However, research suggests these responses can be beneficial. For example, a racing heart pumps more oxygen to the brain, enhancing cognitive performance. In a study with community college students, those who were encouraged to view their stress responses as helpful (rather than harmful) showed improved physiological functioning, performed better on exams, and adopted more effective study habits. Graduate students can apply this by reframing their bodily stress signals as resources that prepare them for peak performance.

Q:What are some common misconceptions about stress that graduate students should unlearn?

• Myth: Stress is always bad. Reality: Stress can be neutral, helpful, or harmful depending on how it's appraised.
• Myth: The best way to handle stress is to avoid or suppress it. Reality: Avoiding stress can lead to greater long-term difficulties, while engaging with stress strategically can enhance resilience and achievement.
• Myth: Feeling stressed means you're not handling things well. Reality: Stress is a normal part of high-performance settings, and learning to use it effectively can improve outcomes.

Interview with Dr. Cameron Hecht: Building a Growth-Oriented Mindset

Q: The idea of a growth mindset is widely discussed, but it’s often misunderstood. How do you define a true growth mindset, and how does it apply to graduate education?

A: People often think having a growth mindset means believing that effort is all you need to succeed. That if you’re not reaching your goals, you must just not be trying hard enough. But that’s an oversimplification—and a harmful one. It implies that we should blame people for struggling, even when unfair systems, policies, or lack of support make success especially difficult. It also suggests that when we’re stuck, we should just keep banging our heads against the wall and try to “brute force” our way through.

In reality, a growth mindset is simply the belief that intelligence is malleable—that we can get smarter and master things that are currently hard for us. Effort is one important way to grow our abilities, but it’s far from the only way. Sometimes growth requires trying new strategies, changing our approach, or getting help from someone who’s already figured it out.

The further I’ve gotten in an academic career, the more I’ve realized what a top-tier strategy help-seeking really is. Finding someone who’s recently overcome the obstacle you’re facing and asking them how they did it can be a powerful accelerator. It can help you make real learning gains in weeks that might otherwise take years of trial and error.

Q: Many grad students believe they should already be experts in their field. How does that fixed belief affect learning and resilience?

A: It’s natural for grad students to compare themselves to others and feel imposter syndrome. We see colleagues publishing high-impact papers or giving high-profile talks and start to wonder if we don’t measure up. That kind of social comparison can cause anxiety and distress, as most of us know. But it has a more practical downside too.

When we’re fixated on looking like an expert, we become more likely to prioritize the kinds of “public victories”—like publications or awards—that make us look accomplished. The risk is that we chase those external outcomes through shortcuts or surface-level learning, and in doing so, cheat ourselves out of the “private victories”: the deep skill-building, hard-earned knowledge, and real growth that enable us to become excellent scientists who can continue producing those public victories in perpetuity.

Q: Have you seen any research-backed strategies that help students shift from a fixed to a growth mindset in academic settings?

A: There’s a whole body of research showing that people can shift toward a growth mindset through brief, well-designed interventions—but for many of us, that shift also happens gradually through experience.

In grad school, a fixed mindset usually manifests as doubts about whether we’re the “kind of person” who can succeed in an academic career. That doubt tends to be especially amplified for people from groups historically excluded from academia. And when you're in the thick of it, it feels impossible to know what’s going to happen next. Are things going to get worse? Are they going to get better?

One of the most valuable things to know (and to remind ourselves) is that the normal trajectory is one where things get better. The more we stick with it—learning how to be a scientist, gaining skills, acquiring perspective—the more confident we feel. Before we know it, years have passed, and we’ve grown in ways we couldn’t have imagined.

So, if you’re a grad student doubting your potential, know that that’s completely normal. But also know that if you keep putting in the hours and seek out advice when you get stuck, you’ll keep getting better. Eventually, people will start turning to you for advice—and then you get to pay it forward.

Q: How can students reframe failure—such as rejected manuscripts, negative feedback, or difficult coursework—as an opportunity for growth rather than a reflection of their abilities?

A: This goes back to the idea of prioritizing “private victories.” Amid the pressures of grad school, it’s easy to focus on external accomplishments—but it’s the internal growth that matters most. That’s what ultimately allows us to become the kind of person from whom external successes flow naturally.

So, when a manuscript gets rejected or we receive tough feedback, it’s totally normal to feel discouraged. The first step is just to acknowledge how we’re feeling. If we try to skip over those feelings or force a positive spin too quickly, it can feel inauthentic—and we’re less likely to actually learn from the experience.

But once we’ve accepted the situation, we can start to dissect it. For instance, with a rejected manuscript, we can practice discerning which reviewer comments are helpful (and which aren’t), refine how we respond to feedback, and improve our ability to anticipate critiques in the future. That process—hard as it is—becomes a powerful private victory. We’ve upgraded our skills. We’ve grown as scientists. And that kind of growth will keep paying off long after this one setback is behind us.

Q: Mentorship plays a big role in shaping students' mindsets. What can advisors and faculty do to foster a growth mindset in their students?

A: David Yeager (my postdoc advisor) recently published an excellent book on mentoring in ways that promote growth. He describes the “mentor’s dilemma”: How do we give mentees the critical feedback they need to improve without discouraging them?

In trying to navigate this dilemma, many mentors fall into one of two traps. Some focus solely on upholding high standards and see it as entirely the mentee’s responsibility to meet them. If they fall short, that’s on them. Others focus on protecting their mentees’ self-esteem and are willing to lower the bar to avoid causing distress. But both approaches shortchange the mentee. Without support, students are more likely to fail. Without honest standards, they may feel like they’re succeeding but struggle later on when expectations rise.

Yeager advocates for a different approach: high standards and high support. We hold our mentees to the highest expectations, and we make it clear that we’re doing it because we believe they can meet them. And, critically, we provide what they need to meet those standards: meaningful leadership opportunities, useful tools, access to our professional networks, and perhaps most importantly, our time. Then, when they succeed, we make sure they get the credit and public recognition they’ve earned. That’s what effective mentorship looks like—and it’s one of the most powerful ways to support and reinforce a growth mindset.

Conclusion: Thriving Through Reframing

Grad school will always involve challenges, but the way we interpret those challenges—and ourselves—makes all the difference. By learning to optimize our stress responses and adopt a growth-oriented mindset, we can shift from feeling overwhelmed to feeling empowered. Whether it’s redefining failure, seeking support, or interpreting a racing heart as readiness rather than fear, these small shifts can have a profound impact. Growth takes time, but with intention and support, it’s absolutely within reach.