the most invaluable advice I was given during my PhD was: don't worry,
you're not supposed to know how to do this until you're done...
my PhD was monumental (as they all are). I finished just over 6 months ago
and only recently realized that I can draw breath and look around me, and I
like what I see. I don't know if I had an "illustrious" career beforehand,
but I was almost 40 when I started and had had a full and productive life.
I'm now 44, about to graduate, totally transformed by the experience. I was
passionate about research before, now I live and breathe this passion
empowered by what I learned these past five years, infused equally with
rigor, curiosity and playfulness
I would never have described my PhD as drudgery, though I worked incredibly
hard, sometimes did boring things, and constantly operated at thresholds
far beyond anything I had previously imagined. I am now totally relaxed
about not knowing things, no matter how trivial & I speak strangely (though
have been told this will pass :))
I feel honored to have done my PhD. it was the most challenging thing I
have ever done, & it equipped me to fearlessly continue to challenge
myself, as well as to support others to do the same
so, drudgery.... far from it. if you are experiencing your PhD as drudgery
this suggests that the reasons for doing what you are doing have been
obscured or lost.
best with the push through to submission. know that the struggle will be so
totally worth it
danielle
--
www.daniellewilde.com
--
daniellewilde.com
*come and play!*
|