Losing Steam

I have been at the NCU PhD BA program for over a year now and I am finding that I don’t have the desire or motivation to go on. It has nothing to do with NCU as my experience with them has been wonderful. I don’t understand what my problem is. I remember working on my masters six years ago with extreme enthusiasm and vigor, but now I am finding all of that drained out of me.

I’m not sure if life has caught up with me or what. I want to quit for the reasons stated above, but I am also afraid that if I do, my aspiration of earning a PhD may go with it.

Signed,

Frustrated

 

I would urge you to keep it up! If possible take a lighter load but if you quit all togther there is a good chance you will never go back!

 

Hi, PhD2B! You just told me over in Xarick's thread that great minds think alike. So get a piece of my great mind here and start thinking like it. I cannot allow you to quit your PhD program. For starters, the penalty for washing out of grad school is that you will be forever condemned to live on forever in the distance learning discussion boards with a signature line proclaiming you to be an educated derelict. Re-read philosophicalme's recent thread "losing my motivation to finish" http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23480 (01/26/06-01/29/06) and startover's recent thread "how to get back on the wagon" http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23540 (01/31/06-02/05/06), as these will have great inspirational value for you. As someone else observed in Rhonda's (philosophicalme's) thread, she had most likely gotten to that point in her studies where she had, in runner's jargon, "hit the wall." But you must keep your eyes on the prize. And you've got to run for the prize. And try to find some place from which to draw that inspiration which will give you that much-needed second-hand wind, that having run the race and fought the good fight, you may be found approved. You must live up to your name, PhD2B. After all, 2B or Not2B, that is the question.

 

Wow, that's a tough situation to be in and I've been there. In fact, I was just there about a month ago. I point that out simply to demonstrate the highs and lows that invariably come with life. I had to ask myself: Why? Why am I doing this??? Is there an outcome or a reward at the end of the tunnel??? If not, then there is no reason to continue. If there is the potential of a reward, then motivation increases.

What is your vision for your life??? What do you want out of life??? Where do you see yourself in the future??? Will a doctorate help you to fulfill your vision -- or no??? The answer is different for everyone.

In a case like this, it is best to see the end from begining. Is a doctorate necessary (or helpful) for you to achieve your vision???

Do you have a vision, regardless of how impractable it may seem to arrive there???

 

PhD2B! Degreemills and shills casted an evil spell over you. Your frustration and desire to quit is an illusion created by black magic.
Be warned. They will attempt to possess your Regionally Accredited soul and poision you with fake degrees!. You must fight it!. The power to fight this demonic evil and complete your NCU degree is within your heart and spirit!

 

Maybe you need a break from online learning. Try attending a school where you can actually see people face to face for a change.

 

I thought I wrote this

Seriously, take a three month break and go back at it. I thought about dropping out last month and realized I would only go back in a few months.

 

I was frequently told by a mentor when I was in my PhD program that "If you don't want to quit, you aren't working hard enough."

What you are feeling is normal. Don't take your eyes off the prize.

 

Dear Frustrated,

I recommend a weekend of gratuitous sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll.

Or a few weeks off without the above.

Don't sweat it - everyone goes through this. Everyone.

(Well, except me. My solution was to pay out my tuition on a monthly basis. Not only did I not get stuck with student loan payments at the end, writing that monthly check for mucho bucks was a motivating factor to keep me going.)

But everyone else does go through a lull when it comes to motivation. Take a break - you deserve it at this point. Recoup, then continue from where you left off. Just keep your advisors informed - they're used to this (and probably went through it themselves), but don't leave them hung up wondering about your status.

 

Now we have Dr. Levicoff playing Ann Landers -- I like it!

As for losing steam, I am just coming out of a lull myself. I started my graduate program during my last semester of my undergrad degree. However, after I received my BS degree I had to deal with a let down. I didn't stop though. I just keep my nose to the grind stone and today I think I'm pretty much back. For me, taking extremely difficult courses generally rekindles my inspiration. This semester I'm taking such a course and the fear of doing bad has kicked me out of my doldrums.

Dial back your coursework for a semester or two so you can take time to smell the roses. And if you are like me, look for the hardest challenge you can tackle and go for it!

 

Tim D,

I fear exactly what you wrote. If I quit now, I may never go back.

Ted Heiks,

Great minds do think alike. Thanks for the words of encouragement. We can’t have two “educated derelict” on this board, can we?

me again,

It’s nice to see that I am not the only one going through this and asking those kinds of questions.

Raristud,

Whoa. Drugs are bad, mkay. Just kidding...thanks for the response.

Roman,

I agree that some face to face time would be nice for a change, but I would not be able to use those credits towards anything since I already transferred the maximum number of graduate credits allowed towards the program.

SteveFoerster,

I don’t want to stop. I think I just needed some encouragement.

Randell1234,

I think you did write this post...perhaps this will refresh your memory (http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=148497#post148497). It appears I was encouraging you on this one.

I don’t know about taking three months off, but I will definitely take one month off after this class.

foobar,

These classes do require a lot of work. That may be why I am getting burnt out.

Steve Levicoff,

Coming from someone who has been through the entire doctoral experience, it does help to know that what I am going through is normal.

JoAnnP38,

I am truly amazed at your success. I mean going straight from a BS to working on an MS while, more than likely, maintaining a full time job. Keep up the good work!


Thanks to all of you who wrote. I think all I needed was some empathy and some words of encouragement.

 

And you may be a casualty of the education race.

Some suggestions:

1. If possible, simplify your life.

2. Exercise 3x a week.

3. Sign up for a free e-mail subscription from the "ABD survival guide"

http://www.abdsurvivalguide.com/

 

Re: Re: Losing Steam

Jim,

I'm not sure if I can simplify my life anymore than it already is, but I do agree that exercise does help with a person's mood. With lacrosse practice starting up for my son, I am on the go two nights a week and on Saturdays for games. I stopped exercising a couple of months ago (mainly due to recent travel for work) and I do need to start up again.

Thanks for the "ABD survival guide." I signed up and I am looking forward to my first newsletter.

 

If nothing else, you would need to change your "handle." (i.e., member name)

 

You mean to something like "PhDDropOut" or "NoPhDForMe?"

I suppose you are right, otherwise, "hey, that's false advertising, man." (Cheech & Chong, Up In Smoke)

 

You certainly would not want to be "Not2B", now would you?

 

I'm not in a doctoral program but I sure know how you feel. The frustratingly slow progress, the endless niggling details, the desire to read a trashy novel instead of a journal article, the constant interruptions from friends, family, and work...

Find a copy of David Steinberg's book, "How to Complete and Survive a Doctoral Dissertation". It's out-of-print but shouldn't be hard to buy for a few dollars. Ignore his comments on computers; he was writing in the late 70s, but pay CLOSE attention to his first two or three chapters. This book never fails to fire my enthusiasm for getting through what I have to do NOW (London program) to give me background for that NWCU JSD. Steinberg is very, very good at showing you what is happening and why and how to counter it. Plus, he's not afraid to advise you to throw in the towel if that's the right thing to do in YOUR life but he won't let you do that until you are SURE that it IS the right thing.

 

The bibliography in _Bears' Guide_ highly recommends Robert L. Peters' _Getting What You Came For_, Richard W. Moore's _Winning the PhD Game_, and Wilfred Cude's _The PhD Trap_ and _The PhD Trap Revisited_. These should be available at www.amazon.com or, if not there, at www.bookfinder.com .

BTW - Does anybody remember the author of _The Adult Learner_? When I was a history and business tutor in Seattle, a buddy of mine, a math and chemistry tutor, introduced me to a Union PhD learner (who became a degreed PhD during that time frame) in Environmental Sciences who swears by that book.

Anyhoo, just a little light reading for y'all.