During the dissertation process, you can sometimes get accustomed to feeling badly. You feel bad because you aren’t getting enough done, you feel bad because you’re neglecting someone or something to get a lot done, you feel bad because you haven’t been sleeping well, you feel bad because you are angry at something your advisor said, you feel bad because another year has passed, you feel bad because… (you get the idea). What I’d like to offer is that feeling badly is not normal. It can feel normal- since you might feel it every day- but it’s not. Part of being successful with the dissertation is finding a way to complete the work in a way that feels good. It’s ok, at times, to feel badly- like if you forego sleep for a night or two in a rush to finish your analyses. What’s not ok, though, is when you feel bad so often that you can’t remember NOT feeling that way. If you are struggling with anger, guilt, resentment, frustration (just about any negative feeling)- DO something about it. Talk it out, lighten your load, change your schedule, ask for help, deliver what you promise- whatever it takes to feel that little glimmer of feeling better. When you feel better, success comes more easily.
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