Gary W. Lewandowski Jr., an associate professor of psychology at Monmouth University, says young professors should stop trying to get tenure and start trying to enjoy themselves:
I believe a superior approach is to get a tenure-track position and then immediately remove the idea of “getting tenure” from your daily (or perhaps even moment by moment) thought process. That’s right. Getting tenure should not be your primary goal (though admittedly this is secretly a “how-to get tenure” article). Instead, your goal should be to follow your interests, your passion, your curiosity, and your creativity. In other words, you should follow all of the things that got you into this field in the first place.
What would happen if young professors everywhere started following this advice?