Acting Happy and Dissertations
March 19th is Act Happy Day. When you’re starting out in your career, they say, “Fake it ’til you make it.” Could this be the key to getting your dissertation in gear as well?…
“It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
There’s been some interesting research on happiness in the last few years that indicates that if folks just decide to be happy, and then pretty soon they are happy — regardless as to what life throws at them! Act Happy Day was created to encourage people to just try acting happy even if they don’t feel happy, and to see if that brings them to a happier place.
In my experience, dissertations are a bit like this as well. Most people eventually get mired down in the details and start feeling hopeless about their chances of ever finishing their dissertation. If you find that you’re spending a lot of time thinking this way, you’re probably not going to finish without making some changes.
To get your dissertation done, you need to start acting like you’re going to finish, even if you don’t really feel like you will! Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right.”
You may need a little bit of help setting some direction and putting things in bite size chunks. Our coaches are experts in helping you bring clarity and direction to your dissertation project, and then holding you accountable to the schedule you set for yourself. Once you get some small successes under your belt, you’ll no longer be “acting happy,” but you’ll actually be happy because you’ll know you’re back on track to complete your dissertation.
If you’re ready to set yourself up for success, click here to schedule a quick, 15-minute chat with me to see if you’re a good fit for our Fast Track Your Dissertation Coaching Program. If you are, then I’ll invite you to join the fastest group of dissertation students out there and help you to reach graduation a good year or two faster than you would on your own.
