The tenure system is a tenure of one's own making. It can be flexible, supple, and responsive to the diverse needs and life situations of faculty members, or it can be rigid and uncompromising. The tenure years need not be a time of high anxiety, but for that to happen, institutions will need to make structural changes in the tenure system. In this article, the author discusses the impact of tenure among faculty members and examines the standards in light of a growing realization that the traditional tenure system is unnecessary rigid.