Just not good enough?!
Hey everyone,
I'm battling with my thesis corrections at the moment. I have a few months left until I need to resubmit following my viva. I'm terrified of going through the submission stress for the second time and I know this will be my final final chance as I don't have to go through another viva.
I seem to be making some progress and covered most of the major reservations identified by my examiners.
I've reduced my thesis significantly and remedied most of their concerns.
However, I seem to have hit a brick wall today. I'm tired of the same sort of thoughts which keep entering my head- ie 'I'm just not good enough' and 'I'll never make it'. These thoughts are not helped by one of my sups who is overtly seriously doubting whether I'm going to be able to clear this next hurdle in time (other sup said that I can do this).
I'm trying to surround myself with positive thinking and try and avoid people who make me feel like I'm going to fail. I'm also trying to concentrate on the good things about my thesis and focus on the really positive feedback from my examiners, but all, in all, it isn't easy.
At the moment, it feels like I'm running on empty and I really don't know how I'm going to get through the next few months with a successful outcome.
Anyway, I think I'm going to try and do at least something positive for today. Plan for today is to finish these last few sections of this chapter and re-evaluate how I feel about this thesis.
Sorry for the above rant!
Hope you all have a good bank holiday :)
Hey Pineapple, you have been through so much so hardly surprising that you will have doubts about abilities. Isn't this loss of confidence a phase that every PhD student goes through while submission looms!?! For you, I believe, that on the first submission you were up against time and perhaps didn't manage to fine tune your thesis - you were aware of its length and complexitity. This is your chance to rectify those issues and by the sounds of it you are progressing well. Have you had a meeting with your sups about your progress - how do they feel? You suggest that one sup is supportive and the other is not. Is the non-supportive sup just challenging you to prove him wrong? If your thesis didn't have the potential to acheive the award of PhD then you wouldn't have been offered a resubmission. So my advise would be to take a break to freshen your thoughts, then re-analyse what is left to do and how to acheive this. We are often our own critics, worse than anyone else! You can do this Pineapple, just believe in yourself.
I agree with Dunni here. Also, is this the same supervisor who didn't believe you could pass the viva at all?! If so, you have proved him wrong already, and you can do it again.
My suggestion is not to lose sight of the "bigger picture". When you work on a lengthy document like a PhD thesis it is very easy to get lost by looking at little details.
I remember one of your past threads, and I think that there are too many reasons why your thesis deserves to pass. So do not forget those reasons - write them on a post-it and stick it in front of you!
Hi Pineapple
I just want to echo the very wise words of Dunni and Corinne becuase I feel they are right in what they say. If your thesis didn't have PhD potential you would have been failed at your viva and not given the chance to resubmit. A negative supervisor at this stage of the game is not tremendously helpful so try to use his/her words and negativity to spur you on - you can do it, you will do it and you will prove him wrong. Only contact that person if you absoutely need his/her guidance about a specific point; otherwise don't engage.
Your thesis corrections sounded complex. Why not take a bit of a break as the others say and come back to it with as fresh a mind as possible. Stop correcting for a day or two and take complete stock of what you have done already and what you need to do to bring the thesis to re-submission standard. I found when I was mid-corrections that often the corrections started to overlap each other and it was difficult to keep a clear picture of where I was at. Go through each of the corrections and ask yourself if you have done what is required.
Best of luck with it - you have come a long way and are closer than you have ever been before. You can do it(up)
Hey, Pineapple. I'm in the midst of corrections myself, so I don't have more advice in addition to the good suggestions you've received from others on the forum. Just want to say hang in there! As you've said, surround yourself with positive people. Make sure you're getting enough rest, and take breaks. You've come so far, and will clear this last hurdle!
Hi Pineapple,
I was wondering how you were getting on! You are so close now to the finish line now so don't give up. I know exactly how you feel - having someone negative, and that negative person being on your "team" is not easy, however as others have said below you need to ignore them and carry on. As Ady has wisely suggested, use this person's negativity to your own advantage. This is your project and your work, and you've "passed" your viva. Stick it to 'em girl, and show them who's not capable of doing the work!
Keep going - you can do it! And you are not alone - I feel like this constantly at the moment as have others on this forum previously, but we can't let it get us down! We're all in this together (up)
