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Tag: nervous

Nathan

Behind Worry

Daily Post

It’s not wrong to worry about the viva. Worry is a very typical, human response to a sensitive, pressured and important event. Years of work build to one meeting. You want it to go well!

It’s not wrong to worry. It’s not wrong to be nervous. Neither state is comfortable, but neither state will diminish your work or impact how likely you are to succeed.

To move past worry you have to explore why you feel that way. When you know what your worry is you can do something about it.

  • If you worry about your examiners you can find out more about them.
  • If you worry that you’re not ready you can do more prep.
  • If you worry that you don’t know enough about the process of vivas you can take time to learn more.

It may be that you can’t remove all sources of worry in your life, but you can probably take action to reduce the worries you feel about your viva.

And for all the worries you feel you will still succeed at your viva.

Nathan

Hold On To Confidence

Daily Post

It’s not wrong to feel nervous before your viva. It’s really important! It comes at the end of years of work and you want to succeed. It’s almost certain that anyone would feel a bit nervous, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be confident too.

Confidence follows your actions. It grows as a result of the things we do. Once you realise it for yourself, in and amongst all of the things you do and the success you achieve, you need to hold on tight. Don’t let it get away.

Remind yourself why you feel confident of your ability. What do you do? What have you achieved? What stats or highlights help you remember?

Keep doing the things that help you to be confident, and keep reminding yourself of how far you’ve come and why you’ve made it this far.

Keep going.

 

PS: At the time of publication there is a little under eight hours to back 101 Steps To A Great Viva on Kickstarter! This really is your last chance to be one of the first people to get my new helpful little guide. Take a look and back it now if you want to be sure to get a copy.

Nathan

Nervous Is OK!

Daily Post

Anxious, worried and concerned can be distressing.

Nervous is uncomfortable. Nervous is reacting to the importance of a situation.

For the viva, nervous means you’re acknowledging that the exam is important. The conversation you’ll have with your examiners matters. And that feeling could be very uncomfortable.

If you’re anxious, worried or concerned then you’re not simply recognising the importance: you’re responding to a problem of some kind. Maybe there is something you don’t know about the process and it troubles you. Maybe you’re aware of some imperfection in your research or thesis and you feel uneasy about it (regardless of how big or small that imperfection might be).

If you’re anxious, worried or concerned and can name the problem that is causing that emotion then you can do something about it. Reflect, analyse the problem, ask for help but ultimately do something to lessen the burden of that problem in advance of the viva.

If you’re nervous then all you need to do is find a way to feel comfortable with the uncomfortable. Building confidence helps, learning more about the process and being prepared help too.

But fundamentally feeling nervous about the viva is OK. It’s a very common part of the process.

Nathan

Understandable

Daily Post

It’s understandable that the nature of the viva could make a person worry. It’s understandable, given what any PhD candidate has to do to get to the viva, that the person being examined might be concerned or worry about how to do their best.

Or better than their best!

And it’s perfectly understandable why the thought of being asked this question or that question – or any question – might make someone feel nervous, concerned or stressed.

To simplify the situation, in the viva, questions are just questions. When you hear a “?” at the end of the sentence that’s your cue to talk. Your cue to talk about what you did, how you did it, what you know or what you think. It’s your cue to say something: to ask a question, to share a response, to say you need to think or to say you’re not sure.

Your examiners have to ask questions to find out what they need. You have to respond to those questions to try to meet those needs.

There are no good or bad questions, although it’s reasonable to expect challenging questions that you have to think about. It’s understandable for you to be nervous about being asked, but also reasonable to expect you to rise to the challenge of responding.

Nathan

Do You Feel Nervous?

Daily Post

It’s not a bad thing if you feel nervous before the viva, or at the start.

It’s probably not comfortable. Nervousness can sometimes grow into feeling overwhelmed or anxious because – but by itself it’s not a terrible state.

Nervousness recognises the importance of something: your viva matters. Success means something.

If you feel nervous, don’t fight it. Focus on the work you’ve done. Remind yourself that your ability and knowledge, your effort and research outcomes are what has brought you to your viva. Focus on all of that and you’ll find enough confidence to put your nerves in perspective.

Yes, your viva is important, so you might feel nervous.

Yes, you did the work, so you can feel confident.

Nathan

Nervousness To Spare

Daily Post

You might be nervous for your viva. Your examiners could be nervous about doing a good job. Your friends and family might be nervous for you. Your supervisors could feel some nerves about the outcome.

Everyone nervous because it, your viva, matters.

We’re wired to be nervous when something is important – it doesn’t have to be something bad. All the people connected to you and your viva could feel nervous. It’s not comfortable, but it’s not a sign that there’s something wrong.

You can’t squash nervousness away, but you can use it to recognise the importance and then respond accordingly. Prepare, get ready and ask for help from others.

There’s nervousness to spare when it comes to you and your viva. But it’s there because it’s important: your success matters.

Nathan

Midsummer

Daily Post

Today is the longest day of the year in the UK.

More hours of daylight. The shortest night. A special date in the calendar.

And just one more day.

Your viva could be the longest exam you’ve had. More concentration than any occasion in recent memory. An important date in your diary.

And like midsummer it’s just one more day.

Important – and then tomorrow rolls around.

Nathan

Confidence & Nervousness

Daily Post

These are not opposite ends of a spectrum. Nervousness is a response to importance; we tend to feel nervous about an important event, good or bad. Confidence is a feeling of self-assurance, certainty or capability.

Nervousness says, “I hope this goes well!”

Confidence says, “I’m pretty sure it will.”

It’s likely you would feel nervous about the prospect of your viva because passing it is important. It’s possible to feel confident for it because of all of the work you’ve done, all of the things you know, all of the talent that you must have. Reflecting on all of these things can help you to find and feel confident. It’s a far more useful thing to do than to try to squash nerves.

Nervousness is about the event. Confidence is about you.

Nathan

It’s Not Wrong To Be Nervous

Daily Post

Feeling nervous means you recognise that something is important. Humans feel nervous about all sorts of things, from weddings to wars, because they recognise that what is happening matters. They might be deeply involved or a bystander: if the outcome is important and they’re paying any attention then they might feel nervous.

Your viva is important. You, of course, are deeply involved. The outcome matters. Of course you might feel nervous, and if you do there is nothing wrong.

If you feel uncomfortable as a result then that’s not great, but that’s not the end of the story. You can talk to others to get help and put your feelings in perspective. You can reflect and help yourself to get things sorted out. You can work to build your confidence.

It’s not wrong to be nervous, but it might not be comfortable. If feeling nervous isn’t helping you then consider what else you can do to change how you feel.

Nathan

Don’t Deny Nerves

Daily Post

If you feel nervous about your viva there is a reason. Don’t try to put it to one side or squash it down, because that feeling is trying to draw your attention to something.

  • If you feel nervous because you don’t feel ready, then take time to prepare for your viva.
  • If you feel nervous because of something that doesn’t seem right in your thesis, then talk to your supervisor and figure things out.
  • If you feel nervous because you don’t know what to expect then find out more!

And if you just feel nervous but can’t put your finger on why then most likely you are recognising that the viva is important. This matters to you. Still, don’t push away your nerves, but instead focus on building your confidence, a counter-feeling that will help bring your nervousness into perspective.

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