Eighth doctoral commandment: focus on the positive
by Constance Davis | March 4, 2010
My colleagues and I reach out to our advisees on a regular basis to ask some questions about how they are doing.
We want to make sure that learners who are completing their first quarter in dissertation are communicating with their mentor, are beginning to understand what the dissertation is all about, and are moving forward in the process.
We have also learned that our advisees at every stage of dissertation sometimes struggle to stay motivated — for any number of reasons. One of the questions we will ask our advisees is how they stay motivated. As you can imagine, they are motivated by everything from financial issues to just getting done and seeing Ph.D. behind their names.
One of my advisees shared that he stayed motivated by keeping a gratitude journal. And I thought what a great idea! I know that it is so easy to let yourself go negative during the dissertation process. It seems like one would not have to look too far to find something to complain about.
However, I also think one would not have to look too far to find something to feel good about. It might be that you wrote one really solid paragraph – or a whole page. Perhaps you tracked down that elusive article you have been searching for. Perhaps your mentor, along with suggestions for improvements, also let you know that you are on the right track. Perhaps you just mastered the latest version of Microsoft Word. Along the way to the completion of each milestone, you will surely find many positives. Focus on them.