Dissertation Writing

Dear Labuza,
You must pass this path as all of us who stayed in science did. Every work has a merit and deserved to be cited. I have a phrase in front of my desk and I read it almost every day. It reads " To succeed, do the best you can, where you are, with what you have !.."
Science is a life style. It comes little bit of every day. Don’t compete with others. Compete yourself. I keep my daily dairies for that particular date. What did I accomplish. At the end of the day I read them. It guides me how I spent my day.

Stay calm do whatever you can do in a given day.

best

A.Baki

Why thank you! Those are amazing words of encouragement. Every year I help with orientation and tell the incoming students to give up comparing themselves to others as early as possible. It is hard to take my own advice some days though.

I love that quote. I’ll continue to overcome my insecurities and make my CV sound amazing!

I just wanted to add that I am sure you have amazing accomplishments and seem to be very humble. Sometimes it is hard to beat one’s own drum but it is OK no one else will do it in your place. We and maybe I speak for myself have a tendency to be able to compliment and encourage others but neglect our own self worth. So follow your own advice and that of A Baki’s
Jaadeja

@labuza

Think about writing about your science separate from “who you are.” Your research has moved the field forward in some way - write about it from that perspective. You have or will soon be awarded your PhD because the scientific community has assigned you the responsibility to advance your field. Every Scientist has to see their role in this charge. Keep your statements simple and be bold!

I’ve found it helpful to ask the lay person (such as my brilliant Liberal Arts sister) if she understands how my work has contributed to understanding the underlying mechanism of memory, learning, and disease. If she can state back to me what my work has revealed I know I have done a good job.

Good luck!

I wholeheartedly agree with what the others have said and also really like A. Baki’s quote. It is natural to compare ourselves to others, but problems arise when we stop using it as self-motivation and begin to use it to pillory ourselves.

Labuza, you raise another interesting point: is this dynamic different in females vs. males. As a child, I was taught to be humble, quiet, and self-sacrificing, and I am female. Many cultures re-enforce these characteristics in girls, while neglecting them or emphasizing their opposites in boys. It would be nice to hear more from the males on this forum. Perhaps we can conduct a poll?

Before I leave this post, let me say, labuza, you are a very good writer. I hope that this will be highlighted in some way in your biosketch and CV.