I recently wrote about my journey through the PhD path in which I mentioned leaning on some lighthearted guidance to get through the haze. I am now at the point in my PhD journey which is perhaps the most nerve-wracking for all aspirants; where I think I know enough to be hopeful but still not enough to be nervy about the big question : Do I have a path to being done?
I always understood that the proposal is the most critical milestone of this journey because it defines whether you understand what you are doing and determines whether you’ll essentially graduate or not. I always thought of it as a “contract” and I found it assuring when someone I respect a lot echoed the same through his guidance. I have put in a lot of effort into this and I keep on struggling with the most important aspect - what is my thesis statement? I have some decent results, a good framework and a wide array of experiments that I can quickly run to gather insights but I do not know what I want to achieve per se - I am still in that “exploratory” mindset. My advisor keeps saying that do not take your proposal as a contract, take it as an exam and just get through it - which I feel is very valuable and sincere advice, but for some reason I do not like the haze, the uncertainty with promising a direction and then hitting a dead end and being stuck. I think that’s the fabled zone of confusion, or “outside your comfort zone” that I just have to get past without completely winging it.
This little graphic by Grant Snider calmed a lot of my nerves and I feel it’s a good thing to share with a lot of people who are discovering the element of confusion that I am at this stage. It’s okay to ask questions - it’s okay to be overwhelmed by them and its okay if the answers are big or small or none at all ! They all help you grow.
