It’s Time to Demolish the Magnum-Opus Myth

By Joli Jensen - Chronicle Vitae. Most scholars dream of writing an influential masterpiece, but there’s a good chance many of us won’t. What often holds us back isn’t just a lack of time, space, or energy, but our own inner demons. Among the most pernicious of these is the myth of the magnum opus—a yearning to create something magnificent coupled with the fear that it can never be good enough. It can paralyze us and lead us to punish ourselves when our work doesn’t live up to our exacting standards. See more...