Hammer Time

I bought a hammer for a job – and then remembered the rusty nails sticking out of the fence. I could use the back of the hammer to hook and pull them out. Then I remembered the chest that needed breaking for recycling. I could use the hammer! When a screw wouldn’t bite in the pre-drilled hole of a flatpack bookcase I used the hammer to start it off.

Soon every little fix around the house looks like it needs a hammer. More and more I thought, “What can I use this for?” Sometimes it was helpful and sometimes it wasn’t.

Worry is a hammer. Worrying about the viva is applied too liberally. A tiny thought or question in the run-up to the viva isn’t acted on – instead it’s worried about.

• “I found a typo, I’d better worry about it.”
• “I’m not sure what vivas are like, I’ll worry about it.”
• “I don’t know exactly what my examiners will ask so I’ll worry.”

That’s not to say that there are no viva situations that are worry-free, but it doesn’t have to be the first thought or feeling. It doesn’t have to be the last. If you worry you can do something to move beyond. You can always work past worry to a better state.

It’s easy to jump to worry when there’s a problem. Remember: other tools are available and you are very talented.