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Nathan

Great Power

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With great power comes great responsibility.

It’s fun to know that Stan Lee didn’t quite invent this phrase, but lovely to know that it’s popularisation is pretty much all due to Spider-Man. It applies to more than just superheroes and those in positions of power, it’s a beautiful truth that applies to many situations.

Like PhDs, of course! I have a couple of thoughts in mind for today.

First, through what you’ve built up over the course of your PhD, you owe it to yourself to prepare well for the viva. This doesn’t have to take a lot from you – remember, you’re powerful! – but you have that responsibility after all this work to see it through to a good conclusion. You have power in that.

Second, and more important by far, with all that power, you have a responsibility to do something that matters after your PhD. That could be a job in academia or somewhere else. It could be you start a business, or you volunteer your skills; it could be that you do something to help one person or many. Your family, your local community, your organisation or people all over the world. You can make a difference.

Knowledge is power, but you have more than just that. You have skill. You have talent. You have know-how as well as knowing lots. With the great power that you have, you have a responsibility to make a difference.

Spider-Man isn’t “better” than someone without powers. A person with a PhD isn’t “better” than someone without. But you might have skills that they don’t, skills that they could really need.

So help. Make a difference.

Be a hero.

Nathan

Being Right

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“What if I’m wrong?” asks the concerned PhD candidate, getting ready for their viva.

Typos are a kind of wrong. Not quite meeting expectations with the thesis is too. Not knowing something is a flavour of wrong, but can be fixed.

You could be wrong when you respond to a question. Your examiners could know something, or have a different opinion, or a different belief… But perhaps they’re not right either. Perhaps you’re in a situation where there are lots of good “right” opinions. That could be interesting

Most of the time, considering the work you’ve done, the time you’ve spent, your talent, your knowledge and your thesis, you will be right.

That might be the easy part. Now you have to share what you know with others. That might be harder, but again, considering the work you’ve done, the time you’ve spent, your talent, your knowledge and your thesis, you’ll rise to that harder challenge when you need to.

Am I right?

Nathan

The Long Way

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Between the first day of your PhD and your last you travel a huge distance. From potential to results, you’re talented when you start and even more talented when you submit – plus you have a lovely book too!

Across all that time it’s sometimes hard to see the moments when you succeeded, when you’ve had amazing times of personal growth or completed projects. The great stuff can be hard to pick out from all the days of hard work: reading, thinking, writing and developing what you did.

You can’t get to the end of your PhD, to submission and on track for the viva any other way. There’s no shortcuts, you have to come the long way.  To be sure of your confidence for the viva you have to review that journey when it nears the end. Look back over what you’ve done and consider how you got to where you are.

The PhD journey is long. It can be hard. It can be so hard to get to the end.

But you will – you will reach the end. As you get closer to the viva, reflect on how you got there and what that means.

Nathan

Diamonds and Pressure

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“You need pressure to make diamonds.”

It’s a cheesy sentiment, but it’s true that sometimes we need the pressure of a situation to have a breakthrough, grow, build talent or find something amazing.

The viva isn’t one of those situations though. Your success there shouldn’t be via pressure on the day. If you talk to plenty of graduates about their experiences, pressure isn’t something they describe.

Diamonds need pressure, but they need time too. If we want to think about diamonds, the PhD and metaphors, then really it’s you who is the diamond in the story.

Nathan

A Series of Successes

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Thesis submission isn’t a final domino being knocked over. The process of doing a PhD is rarely so tidy or organised. You get to submission through success; it could be a messy sequence of events over several years, yet in the end you achieve enough. A series of successes leads you to where you need to be.

The PhD process can sometimes be really messy, so take care in your viva preparation to reflect on your successes more than the mess. Remember the results that got you where you are, rather than the barriers that got in your way. You will have learned through mistakes and failures too, but it’s reflecting on the success you’ve found that will help you get ready.

Remind yourself of how you got to the achievements you have now.

Nathan

Lots In Common

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Clever. Skilled. Professional.

Prepared. Looking for a good outcome.

All at the viva for good reasons.

It’s worth remembering that you and your examiners have a lot in common.

Nathan

You Did It

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Yes, you had help, you had supervision, you had supporters – but you did the work.

Remind yourself as you get closer to your viva day.

You showed up to do the work.

You invested the time to learn more.

You invested the effort to develop your skillset.

You took the time to keep notes.

You wrote your thesis.

You did it.

Nathan

And Now…

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…you’re ready to face one more challenge: your viva!

Wait, I skipped ahead! Go back to the beginning…

 

You got onto a PhD programme because you were good enough. Your story before then, your successes, your challenges, your grades and skills, they convinced your institution you could do a PhD.

You worked through to submission because you were good enough. It won’t have been easy. You’ll have had success but also lots of challenges. Some days and weeks will have been joyous, but perhaps some months will have felt awful. In the end though, you did it. You did your research, you wrote your thesis and submitted it. One more milestone reached.

You prepared for your viva by building on what you did. You highlighted the important stuff, reflected on how you did it and got ready to talk to your examiners. You’re good enough. You really are!

You’re good enough, and now you’re ready to face one more challenge: your viva!

 

Now, right at the end, it’s worth reflecting on the journey that’s got you this far.

Nathan

Hundreds To One

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The viva: hundreds and hundreds of days of work that come down to one day. One day when you have to do well.

That could sound very worrying, but remember that all that work is the price of admission for the viva. You have to invest all of that time and effort to get that far. It’s not idly or blindly spent; all of that effort helps to make you ready for that one day with your examiners.

One way to look at the viva is telling yourself, “After all this time, it all comes down to this!”

A more helpful story is to think, “After all this time, I’m ready for this!”

Nathan

You Can Do It

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If not you, who?

Because you’re the only person who can pass your viva.

If not now, when?

Because until you’re in the viva you have time to prepare, time to get ready.

Time to remind yourself that you’re the only person who can pass your viva.

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