Flexible in our minds
Today I want to consider the importance of a flexible mindset when you are doing a PhD and writing. At the beginning of the course, I said that one of the most important attributes for PhD students to cultivate is self belief. Belief in their own ability and a belief that they can thrive in their PhD programme. One aspect of retaining that self belief is flexibility.
When we are deep into the re-structuring and editing phase, a bit of self doubt might start to creep in. You might wonder why this does not come out right first time (it doesn’t for anyone) and why this is so difficult and destabilising at times. The answer is: it’s the same for every single person who ever did a PhD, and everyone you know doing one now. Regardless of what they are prepared to admit to, this is a universal truth.
Flexibility of mind is incredibly important so you can retain your self-belief. You will repeatedly encounter what you might initially think of as ‘set-backs’. But remember our growth mindset and how successful people fail a lot?
They are also flexible. You need to be flexible if your data collection does not deliver the stunning results you might have hoped for, or you end up in a dead theoretical end after weeks or months of reading and indeed writing. It is only after you have written it out, that you can discover this. It is not something you ought to have known in advance. All these things are a normal part of research. Research does not just progress seamlessly from conception - design - research - data collection - writing - publication. No project has ever worked like that in the history of time, including the research projects of established academics. Something always does not work out quite like we had hoped it would.
The key here is to see this as part of the process, not an obstacle to be overcome. This is a mind-set. So-called barriers often deliver you much, much, better results than you could have possibly imagined, as you have to reimagine your project in different ways. It is about being flexible when things go a bit off course. Talk things through with your supervisor about how things might be reorientated to work for you. Again it is important to note, this is all part of the research process.
The same can be said about your writing. Some days it will go well, some days it seems to get away from you. Just keep turning up to do the writing sessions, as scheduled. Eventually it will work out.
Today I will…
Work on my writing for 2 hours minimum;
Try to reflect in my journal about any parts of the research or writing process that is not going as you might have liked, and try to work out if there is a different way to approach them;
Are these obstacles part of your writing stories or demons? Were they real or specious barriers?
Talk to your supervisor about these unexpected events and get advice.