===================================================
THE ALL-BUT-DISSERTATION SURVIVAL GUIDE(tm)
Devoted to practical steps for completing
your doctoral dissertation.
www.ecoach.com
=======================================================To subscribe, visit www.ecoach.com
INDEX
1. Ben's Note
2. Let Go and Take Hold of Your Dissertation and Your Life
By Judith S. Levy, PhD
3. Words of Wisdom
4. Inspirational QuoteSUMMARY
=========
In this issue, Dr. Judith Levy shares some ideas for gaining
control of the dissertation so you can move on with your life.We round it out with Words of Wisdom & an inspirational quote.
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Ben's Note
April 29, 2004
Dear ABD Survival Guide Reader,
Is it just me or does this year seem to be moving along
very rapidly? It feels like we just rung in the New Year,
and, here we are, with another academic year now winding
to a close. I hope you have been making strong progress
on your dissertation so that you are on track to participate
in your program's commencement exercises by this time next
year. Make that one of your goals- you can do it.In this issue, Dr. Judith Levy shares some ideas for gaining
control of the dissertation and your life so you can maximize
your progress and complete your doctoral education
process.Our Words of Wisdom section reminds us that the dissertation
is a living document- in essence, it will never be done- and
our inspirational quote offers a bit of humor into what might
otherwise be a dreary process.Keep up the great work, and see you in two weeks.
Warmly,
Ben
=====================================
Let Go and Take Hold of Your Dissertation
and Your Life
By Judith S. Levy, PhD
=====================================There's an old New Yorker cartoon which depicts
a tired, bespectacled man, sleeves rolled up, sitting
in his basement at his typewriter surrounded by piles
and piles of paper on the floor, bulletin boards filled
with varying sized notes, and crumbled pieces of paper
near a wastebasket. As he leans over the typewriter,
his wife stands on the staircase above with her arms
crossed. He turns to her and says, "Finish it? Why
would I want to finish it?"The mordant humor expressed by this cartoon is familiar
to anyone whose dissertation has become a "bad old
friend", thorn in one's side, or albatross around one's
neck.Strangely, we humans get used to the craziest things, and
even more strangely become attached to them! It's a well
known fact that even long term inmates often become so
attached to their prisons that they recommit crimes in
order to get sent back again!What does this have to do with you? Has your dissertation
become the safe prison that you're inadvertently attached to
even while hating it? You can get free! But first you may
need to look more closely at the emotional baggage that may
be keeping you overly attached to you dissertation. All the
good advice in the world won't help unless you can feel free
enough to take it in and let yourself get released.You may need to look at what you're having trouble letting
go of so that you can take hold of both your dissertation
and your life! These two things occur together. You can
not do one without the other. Do you feel a kind of 'been
there, done that' cynicism about ever getting out of the
dissertation morass? Strange to say, that very cynicism
may be one of the ways that you hold on to your painful
attachment! You are not a broken record, even though it can
sometimes feel like you're going over the same groove (or
jumping through the same hoops) over and over. If you're up
to the dissertation, you have an inquiring mind, and the
capacity to get control of the needle - if you grease the
mechanism.It's true that words are easy but the process of change
always involves some amount of anxiety and pain. So rather
than focusing on your dissertation /per se/, you may need to
temporarily make yourself the project by discovering and
acknowledging your latent attitudes and fantasies regarding
the meanings the dissertation has for you, including what
you're getting out of not getting it done.Often, people who have experienced many losses and
separations in their lives tend to take more time getting
their dissertations completed. One of the most common
conflicts is that completing the dissertation means truly
and fully entering into adulthood and leaving childhood
behind. Maybe keeping the dissertation incomplete helps you
avoid taking hold of new opportunities or responsibilities
in your life - or even cultivating feelings of potential
greatness! - which a part of you would like to avoid. As
long as you have your dissertation to think about, you
don't have to face those challenges.Sorting these kinds of implicit issues out with a coach or
by journaling about it on your own can be very helpful, but
you have to be open to asking questions to begin with.
Surrender to the fact that you're in a process. Let
yourself be with your emotions and fantasies, and then take
a mental helicopter ride up above yourself and look down at
where you are. It's even possible that completing the
dissertation may not be as necessary as it seems for you to
have a rich and fulfilling life. Letting go of that notion
can help you to put it into a better perspective.Here's a well-known poem by Marianne Williamson and some
questions for you to consider and journal on if you like.Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
handsome, talented or fabulous?Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.Your playing small does not save the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.We were born to make manifest the glory of god within us
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.As we are liberated form our fear, our presence automatically
liberates others.What feelings and emotions were evoked as you read this
poem?How does this poem relate to your attitudes towards success
and failure? To childhood vs. adulthood?What would you need to risk in order to live a life of
greatness? Be specific. Write from your heart not your
head.Next, write an imaginary letter to yourself or to your
advisor. It's a year from now and you're celebrating your
dissertation's completion. Describe what actions you took
to make this moment come true!You can take hold of your dissertation! Get out of the
basement and into your life!=======================================
About Judith Levy, PhD
=======================================Judith is an experienced clinical psychologist and coach
who has worked with people for over 25 years to help them
to become unstuck and to take hold of their dreams. She
finished her dissertation in 1979 at The City University Of
New York, (and was the first in her class to complete it!)
She loves inspiring others to create and embrace
possibility in their lives.She can be reached by phone at (914) 478-4108 or
(212) 874-1909.=====================================
Words of Wisdom
====================================
Don't expect to get any stage of your dissertation
done. The lit review will never be done. The data
collection will never be done. Ditto for the data
analysis, first draft, and even the final polished
version. At a certain point on the calendar, just
declare that it's good enough and move on to the
next stage. It's much easier to come back to a stage
if you need to, than to move on to the next
stage in the first place, so move on anyway.=======================================
Inspirational Quote
=======================================A dear friend was giving me advice on completing my
dissertation. I believe his words were: "beat that
thing with a stick until its dead."===================
Your Own Coach
===================If you are considering whether to get your own coach
to help you reach your academic goals, send any email
to: ben16-76471@autocontactor.com=============================
BEN DEAN, Publisher, ABDSG
===============================Ben holds a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of
Texas at Austin. He is the founder of MentorCoach
(www.MentorCoach.com), a virtual university training
Accomplished mental health professionals to become
extraordinary coaches. With Martin E. P. Seligman,
Ph.D., Ben is also the founder of Authentic Happiness
Coaching (www.AuthenticHappinessCoaching.com), a virtual
university training educators, consultants, trainers,
therapists, parents and other professionals to apply
the principles of Authentic Happiness in their own
lives and in the lives of their clients, students, and
children. Ben lives in suburban Maryland with
his wife and two young children, Walnut, their
hamster, and Rubin, their cocker spaniel.==================================
RACHNA D. JAIN, Editor, ABDSG
==================================I'm a dissertation coach and licensed psychologist
based in Maryland, with a doctorate from the
University of Denver. I'm the Editor of the
ABDSG, as well as the Author of "Get It Done!
A Coach's Guide to Dissertation Success"
If you'd like to learn more about me or my book, please
visit my website: www.ExcelWithEaseCoaching.com
If you have questions about this newsletter, you
can direct them to me: rachna@mentorcoach.comI'm excited to be working with you to meet your academic
goals. You can do it!================================================
THE ALL-BUT-DISSERTATION SURVIVAL GUIDE(tm)
================================================"The All-But-Dissertation Survival Guide"(tm) focuses
on ways to help its readers more readily overcome the
roadblocks that often seem to stand in the way of
completing the dissertation. It is read throughout the
world.===============================================
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Web: www.mentorcoach.com(c) Copyright 2004 Ben J. Dean. All rights reserved.
Rachna Jain, Ph.D.
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