Investing in Myself

Today, I spent an hour with a coach who specializes in marketing. It is an area in which I have limited experience, and really have not paid a good deal of attention to. I have a full time university gig, and my personal coaching practice is pretty small scale. That said, I do wish to reach more people and reach them more consistently, so I can continue to have a positive impact in the lives of developing scholars. Its what excites me most.

So, I took my advice and invested in myself today. It felt good.

Pick an area of your life you want to improve in. Invest in yourself.

Stop and Give me 50

Yes, I know you are busy; the academic year is in full swing for most. Yet, you have time, no matter what, to stop what you are doing, or stop very soon, and write fifty words. You do. You can.

50x30 equals 1500
1500x3.5 equals 5250

Even a few sentences adds up to an article in just a few months.  Would you be happy with three a year?

No, fifty words a day is not the grand solution to all of your writing and publishing problems.

But it is far better than nothing.

And you can start right (write) now.

Confidence

As we move through life, we take little dings to our confidence. Sometimes, the dings are not so little, but are huge losses and/or perceived failures. My divorce really was a huge hit on my self confidence. For so many years, my sense of identity was wrapped up in doing whatever I needed to do for my family. Jobs I said yes to and those I said no to, jobs I left, side work I took (i.e. many years of grant reviewing and teaching during the summer), ect ect. And, a lot of sacrifices that are too personal to discuss here. Being "trained" within the system of hegemonic masculinity, I had learned that part of being a man was to be heroic; I wanted to be a hero for my family, and for many years, I think they viewed me that way. At least that is my story, and I am sticking to it!

Well, that all went to #(#*%&(#, and I was left with profound sense of having failed. I had failed, I believed, at the most important thing a man could do. I was also dumped, or as I would say it, I was "thrown away." All of a sudden, all of my accomplishments meant nothing. Nothing. Yuck!

Well, time, and a whole lot of  personal writing has allowed me to regain a good deal of my confidence. I no longer view myself as having failed.  In life, there is often a large gap between actions and outcomes; I feel proud of my sacrifices. I am starting to feel good about myself again, as a man, as a lover, a friend, a person, and now, again, as a writing/scholar. I truly did my best.

This is a lot of self disclosure. Its not like this blog has been a dry, dispassionate space where I only dispense cold advice on how to write and publish, but still, this may be a bit much. Still, part of how I wish to live is with authenticity and vigor; why else do I write autoethnography and poetic inquiry!!

And as with most of my posts, I try to take it back to writing, of course ;). You will have your own events that leave you feeling unsteady, shaken, vulnerable, and unsure.  Even if your shaken confidence does not stem from your academic work, it will most likely impact it.  Our self doubts and self downing can often permeate across the various domains of our lives. Certainly this has been the case for me. If this is true for you, stop and reflect upon what you need to do to work back toward a more confident, strengths-based, dare I say evidenced-based view of yourself.

We all are, or at least can be, heroes of our own narratives. Our stories may not be grand, but even the most simple of lives can be heroic. Yes, heroic.

Yes, Write First!

I know I posted this somewhere, but I cannot find it! No worries, its always good to hit old topics in new ways.

So, let me keep it simple.

Write first, then read.

Literature review sections?

Write first, then read.

Any section?

Yes, any section.

Every day?

Yes, every day.

If it is true that writing is am method of inquiry (and it is), than one of the functions of writing is to discover that which we have forgotten, that which we may have slightly forgotten, and the connections between ideas that are not fully clear. By the time you have gotten even half way through a doctoral program, you have read enough that you have background knowledge that can be useful for almost anything you write, even if it is new topic.

For example, some of what I read in my first year doctoral class on epistemology is really useful for my work on autoethnography. I find some of the ideas are hazy, but as I write, I am able to access some of it. Once I am done with my initial thoughts, I can go back to the literature, and dig into it a bit more. But, it is now THERE, on the page, and so I can relax as I know I have generated some new words. I have also probably drawn connections to those original ideas that I would not have had I not written first.

Writing first does not mean you don't read. It means you exhaust what you have to say and then go into the literature. Once you have something new, you write more.

The review of literature should be an iterative process that helps you build your article, not an exhaustive exploration that must be completed before you write. That was for undergraduates, and masters students. Your a scholar now, right? You are allowed to have your own thoughts, dog forbid.

So, write first, then read. Each day. Trust that you know more than you think you do. Let the magic of writing, of writing as method of inquiry, work for you.

Thinking of Leaving the Academy? 5 Free Coaching Sessions!

A couple of days ago, I made any another post that circles back to my concern/fear for those who really do not want to leave higher education but are doing so anyhow. It struck me as a a hollow concern without really doing something to back it up. Did the post not speak of service and integrity? Ha!

So, the first person who contacts me and says they are REALLY and TRULY are unsure of whether to go into higher education or leave for another field gets five free coaching calls. You can be anywhere in the world!

And, I will give five doctoral students or post docs without jobs five sessions of coaching for $250 (contact me in Sept and mention this note).

email: Richfurmanphd@gmail.com

Left by Choice, or?

The venom and exaggerations of some anti-higher education posts in social media by those who market their services toward helping people leave the academia really bug me. I am all for deconstructing and working to change the various oppressive and problematic aspects of university life, but the highly charged, overly generalized tones of some of these pundits is really troubling. They use fear mongering in much the same way as do anti-immigration, law and order right-wingers; throw in small bits of fact, create moral and pragmatic panic, and then capitalize.

Look, if you want to leave higher education; do it! It is not for everyone. There are some fantastic people out there to help you do so. Find them; use them! But make sure you search deeply within yourself and explore your motivations for doing so. Making choices based upon fear and anxiety fueled by others may not be in your best long term interest.

And yes, I do get that I am starting to be a big redundant with this topic,  but I feel compelled.  I may not be done :).

Also, please note: I am not suggesting that all of those who help others transition out of the academe use hyperbole and fear as marketing strategies. Just this week I referred a client to someone who offers these services; many are wonderful and offer invaluable support. Take for example, Jenifer Polk. We had a lovely conversation a couple of weeks ago about our philosophies of helping, and I think she would be wonderful to work with!!

I do wish, however, that some others would turn down the at attacks based upon very selectively presented data and personally experiences that may or may not be representative.

Daily Check Ins

If you are having a hard time getting your writing routines and rituals stated, try reciprocal daily check ins. You commit to checking in daily with someone who holds you accountable, and you also ask them to check in with you each day. Check ins can be email based, through social media, ect. However, for greater emotional impact, it is good to use the phone for the first week you are tying to get yourself right (write).