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You are here: Home / Archives for fear

fear

You aren’t trying to win an argument

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Jo VanEvery

For various reasons I’ve been thinking about what holds people back from submitting/publishing their work. Fear of criticism comes up a lot. As if somehow if someone doesn’t like it, or disagrees with it, it means you shouldn’t have published it, or the work was wasted or something. We are all searching for truth. That’s […]

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Face with mask partly on/off

Do you suffer from Imposter Syndrome?

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Jo VanEvery

Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Do you suffer from impostor syndrome? That’s one of those faux-medical terms for a Very Real Thing. You feel like you don’t really belong, you aren’t really qualified, and at any moment someone is going to find out and your whole life will come crashing down. It’s related to […]

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A photo of a sharp cliff edge points into the distant horizon over a dark teal blue ocean. There is a person stood near to the edge of the cliff.

Jumping off cliffs

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Jo VanEvery 1 Comment

Making decisions about your career and your next best steps is like standing on top of a cliff. It seems really scary. It’s a long way down. You can’t really see what’s at the bottom, but you suspect there are rocks. You’d really like to avoid the rocks. Other people confirm your fears. They tell […]

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a person in a floral white blouse holds their hands over each other against the centre of their chest indicating their heart or soul.

Confidence must come from within

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Jo VanEvery Leave a Comment

Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Confidence must come from within It’s easy to think that external validation will help build your confidence. Getting that paper accepted. Getting that grant. Having someone more established in your field cite your work or compliment you on it. It won’t. Like Groucho Marx, who famously would not want […]

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Colourful hand drawn image of a wacky stylised time machine with various vintage style trumpet exhausts, red velvet seating with gold trim and a console at the front.

The cardinal rule of time travel

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Jo VanEvery Leave a Comment

Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · The cardinal rule of time travel   Last week I talked about how helpful my Magnificent Metaphorical Time Machine is. Travelling forward in time can help you see the outcome you want, without worrying about the messy and difficult process of actually getting there. However, there is a cardinal […]

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There will always be things you don’t know

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Jo VanEvery Leave a Comment

Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · There will always be things you don’t know You are an intelligent person. You have successfully completed an advanced degree, secured a position, maybe even already have tenure. You may have won competitive scholarships along the way. (If you are still doing your PhD, you have still accomplished much. […]

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You are not a procrastinator: Will you look like a fool?

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Jo VanEvery Leave a Comment

I’ve had more than one client recently worry about their inability to get down to their writing. This is not a minor problem. It can lead you to question your ability to do the work you are doing and to question your own identity. If you aren’t an academic and a writer, who are you? […]

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Making Writing Less Scary: links

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Jo VanEvery 1 Comment

Here are some other things you might want to read related to this week’s theme

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A photo taken from beneath lots of bare lightbulbs hanging from small wires from a white ceiling above.

Permission to do the scholarly work you want to do

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Jo VanEvery Leave a Comment

Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Permission to do the scholarly work you want to do Are you telling yourself that you should be doing something that you really don’t think is valuable? Are there gremlins telling you that the work you want to be doing isn’t really scholarly? Or that it’s unfashionable (“No one […]

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Are you waiting for permission?

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Jo VanEvery 1 Comment

One of the attractions of an academic career is the autonomy it affords. That means no one is going to give you permission. Or, perhaps more accurately, they already have.

Trusting your judgement is hard. You risk criticism. Disapproval. Perhaps even attack. Even though criticism is an inevitable part of academic life, many academics struggle with it.

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