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Posts Tagged ‘motivation to write dissertation’

Be inspired to write

Posted in brave, courage, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, mental toughness, motivation, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 25, 2011| 1 Comment »

What inspires you to action?  What inspires you to believe? 

Are you inspired by random quotations? Does the unfamiliar or even familiar quotation give you the evidence you need to trust a writer?  

Or does it cause you to wonder?

Successful writers know that a quotation doesn’t speak for itself. If you’re using a quote in your text, you have to explain its relevance to your material and identify the credibility and authority of the quotation’s author. 

But if you want a quotation for your website or for a blog, is it brave or foolhardy to pluck a quotation from an online list of quotations without knowing when or why the author first wrote or said those words?  What do you think?

Sometimes I read a quotation on a website and pause. I wonder how the writer of the website came across that quotation. Did she actually read the full article or speech or book?  Has the quotation been taken out of context? Did she check the source?

I’m always a little suspicious about believing the rest of the text on the website because I have doubts about the use of the quotation.

Even though I am wary about the use of quotations, I am often inspired by a turn of phrase or a fresh word choice.

Today I read an oath which resonated with effort and determination. It had none of the affected quality that I sometimes see in the borrowed words on the occasional website and elsewhere.

I was checking the Special Olympics website for the dates of the Summer Games in Greece. I know someone who will be going to those games.

Just in case you’re interested, the dates are June 25 to July 4, 2011. Beneath the dates on the website is the Special Olympics Athlete Oath:

Let me Win!

But if I Cannot win,

Let me be brave in the attempt!

 If you’re struggling today with your dissertation, stop and take in the context for these words.  Take to heart the line from the oath “Let me be brave in the attempt.”

Just as the Special Olympics athlete is brave in the attempt to win, I urge you to rise bravely to the best that is within you and be inspired to write.

What has inspired you lately?  I would love to hear from you.

Nancy

Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC
Your International Dissertation Coach and Academic Career Coach
http://www.nancywhichard.com
http://www.smarttipsforwriters.com
nancy @ nancywhichard.com

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Release those endorphins and write

Posted in coaching, creativity, dissertation coach, exercise, happiness, motivation, running, self-care, Smart Tips, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 8, 2011| 1 Comment »

“The idea for this post hit me today when I was at the gym, sweating profusely,” writes Larry Brooks in a blog post called “Blood, Sweat and Words: How Badly Do You Want This?”

As I read his guest post on the blog “Write To Done,” I was reminded once again with how often we hear about the connection between mind and body.

Brooks continues, “There’s something about taking yourself to the wall, to the point of the sweet pain that signals you’ve given it everything. Kinesiologists will tell you that’s an endorphin high. Nothing but bio-chemicals kicking in. Funny thing about bio-chemicals, though: they can take you to places you wouldn’t go otherwise.”

“I realized that I have, on occasion, experienced that same exhilarating high about my writing. And then, between sets on a machine inspired by something out of a medieval dungeon, it hit me: I don’t do that enough. I couldn’t wait to get home and start writing this post,” Brooks writes.

A feeling similar to what Brooks describes struck me this morning, though I wasn’t feeling the “sweet pain” Brooks mentions nor was I in anything remotely related to a dungeon.  In my aerobics class, moving to the rhythm of such music as the great ‘70s hit “I Will Survive,” I once again found myself in a moment when my mind was on its own.  With no prompting, no worrying, I was suddenly thinking through a bit of writing I had been wrestling with. 

This afternoon I asked a dissertation coaching client if she could recall a time when ideas about her writing had come to her with no bidding, no prodding when she was exercising or, perhaps, taking a walk.  In a slightly surprised voice, she said, “I’ve never thought about that.”  Then she said, “But it’s hard to write when I’m in a grumpy mood.”

Award-winning Irish novelist Michael Collins combines exercise and writing in a spectacular way.  A serious runner, he runs races in mountains, hills, and the desert.  When he trains, he always brings along a pencil and paper and will stop to write down a few words that will inspire him when he’s writing and resting later that day.  He says that starting to write a book in his mind while he is running “has always been the most natural process.”  Having the “release of endorphins [as he runs] frees up ideas.”

Almost any kind of exercise will elevate your mood and create the perfect circumstance for you to become aware of ideas about your writing that your mind has been working on.

If you can go straight to your computer or desk after exercising, you will very likely find that writing will be easier for you then than at other times during your day. And it is always easier to write when you’re in a good mood and when you’ve been thinking about ideas for your writing.

Have you ever had a breakthrough in your writing as a result of exercising?   I’d love to hear from you. 

Watch your email for the February edition of my newsletter—Smart Tips for Writers. If you aren’t receiving my newsletter, you can sign up on my website (www.nancywhichard.com).

All good wishes,

Nancy

Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC
Your International Dissertation Coach and Academic Career Coach
www.dissertationbootcamp.net

www.usingyourstrengths.com

www.smarttipsforwriters.com

nancy @ nancywhichard.com

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To increase motivation to write the dissertation, be curious

Posted in academic, accountability, curiosity, dissertation boot camp, dissertation coach, dissertation writing, mental toughness, motivation, perseverance, productivity, self-discipline, using your strengths, writing, tagged , , , , , , on September 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Exterior view. Bronze tympanum, by Olin L. War...

Image via Wikipedia

Curiosity and love of learning are powerful motivators

Todd Kashdan, author of Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life, advocates bringing your strength of curiosity to your work.  He says that the higher the level of curiosity, the greater the analytic ability and problem-solving skills. 

 Most of my dissertation coaching clients have “love of learning” and “curiosity” as two of their top five strengths. These strengths are golden; use them and enjoy them.

A curious person asks questions.  

Prompt yourself.  Ask:  What question is driving my writing? What am I discovering—from my research and also as I write? What am I saying that others are not?

It is key that you bring your curiosity to your writing, but not to some technological novelty only peripherally connected to your work.  

Stay vigilant to keep your curiosity from letting you engage in delaying tactics.

 Manage your curiosity so that it has a positive effect on your dissertation.  Curiosity boosts your motivation.

I’d love to hear from you — how are you using your curiosity?

All good wishes,

Nancy

Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC
Your International Dissertation and Academic Career Coach
[email protected]
www.dissertationbootcamp.net
www.usingyourstrengths.com
www.smarttipsforwriters.com

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