Social supports

“I would come back to social supports. Social supports, and also whatever it is that research students need to do to make themselves feel good and cutting themselves a break. A thesis means months worth of work—but actually this is a part of the process. And interestingly, you’re not expected to get it right. In fact, that’s what the journey is about. It’s about getting it wrong, learning from your mistakes, and being able to go on from there. So again, that’s a growth mindset. But actually the mindset itself is a way of processing and getting through that experience or whatever negative experience that happens to be; hence why I think it’s so important for an environment to foster that and build that person up to be able to have and take the perspective that actually it’s okay for them to make mistakes. They are expected to do that. This is a journey in which mistakes make the greatest learning.”

(Kim Beasy)