A few days ago I responded to someone's question about how my viva preparations were going by saying 'the mind is strong, but the body is weak'. I was referring to my inability to get myself to just sit down at a table somewhere and do the preparation work I needed to do. I wanted to do it, and each morning I told myself I needed to do it, but I kept failing to do it. My friend's response to my lament, was to suggest that the mind is the most important ingredient in all this and as long as the mind was willing I would be ok.
Reflection on this piece of advice I see so much truth in it. Since my mock viva, I've been rehearsing answers, strategies for answers, thinking through different angles to take on particular questions - but I've been doing all of this in my head. I've been telling myself it will be ok, the viva will be ok, that 'I know my stuff'. I've been visualizing the day before the viva, the day of the viva, seeing myself in the viva, talking, expressing, responding, even feeling the intensity of the experience especially that burning sensation in my face that usually comes when I'm engaged in a heated discussion or when I get asked a difficult or tricky question. My visualisation are always about a positive outcome. I always pass, I think I believe this - that my thesis, my research and my understanding of the research is good enough to warrant a pass. But I'm preparing for different variations of this outcome - I see myself content with a 'pass with substantial amendments' even though I would prefer a 'pass with minor corrections'. But pass is the operative word and all the emotions attached to my self-talk and visualisation is linked firmly with this word.
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