Bumbling Along

There was a time when I would have described my PhD journey as incredibly lucky. Somehow, I made it through.

I had months where it seemed like nothing worked. Weeks where I couldn’t figure out how to get something simple done.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I arrived at viva time and felt a lack of confidence in myself. How could I feel good about my chances of success when I had somehow bumbled my way to submission?

I had a little confidence that my thesis had some good results – but what about me? Was I any good?

Sixteen years later, a little hindsight and a lot of self-reflection and I feel differently.

I wasn’t perfect but I worked hard. It wasn’t luck that got me through but I had my share of good fortune. I had funding, I had a good supervisor and I found topics to explore that lead to interesting results. I developed myself and my research.

But I didn’t see it that way at the time. I just kept thinking, because of all the challenges in my projects, that somehow I was “luckily” making it through.

If you’re looking for confidence for your viva start by reflecting on the journey. Recognise the work you’ve done. Appreciate the good fortune you’ve encountered. Highlight the success that you have made.

There’s no way you can get to submission by simply bumbling along.