We often think of the learning process as being about what we learn about our subjects, or about academic life/politics etc, but not often about what we learn about ourselves. As such, I'd like this thread to be about just that. What has surprised you about yourself? What has doing the PhD really reinforced about your character? Has your self image changed?

I'll start

1) I'm actually really impatient. And I don't mind that I am. e.g. as soon as I have an idea for a project, or someone in my department mentions collaboration, I want to get it done now.

2) I have the attention span of a small child at a zoo. And I seem to be productive enough this way. If I devote too much time to a particular piece of writing or work, I get bored of it and want to move on to the next thing.

Likewise, I'm impatient and I want to get things done and over with. I like to kill off a task as quickly as possible and move onto the next task.

However, I learnt that my great strength was to slowly and methodically go over something, and I'm actually better with difficult projects where a result has to be ground out over weeks or months. Simply put, another contradictory aspect of my personality is I don't quit until the job is done.

It's strange that my impulsiveness to get things done quickly actually goes against the approach I'm strongest at. I have to switch myself into the latter mode to produce my best work.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Hey! I think I've learnt that actually I can be pretty resilient in the face of difficulties. The first two years of my PhD were pretty much plain sailing with no particular problems, but the last few months were really hard for a number of reasons. Still I carried on and got through it all. To be honest, I think that anyone doing a PhD has to be pretty resilient- very few of us get through it with no difficulties at all! I'm also a little on the impatient side- I don't like things hanging over me so I get everything done as quickly as possible so I can move on to the next thing! KB

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1. I work best when someone else is involved. I then feel that I shouldn't let them down, whereas on my own with no one enforcing anything I slow right down and waste time.

2. I like starting things and getting to the point that I understand something and feel that it works. If someone else could come along and finish them that's be great because I am awful at finishing things!

I knew both of these things I think really before hand, but this has certainly confirmed it!

By the way, I reckon your lack of patience is more to do with universities' lack of urgency. Everything moves SO SLOWLY. Why does it take weeks to get Matlab sorted on my machine? It's a simple task and I can't do stuff without it and yet they couldn't do it quickly. Taking 6 MONTHS to sort out my contract is also more than a little ridiculous! To an academic it would appear that "soon" means within 3 months... If you're lucky

The most important thing I have learned so far is that I have limits!!!
I am working full time in Greece and doing a PT PhD in UK, this means that I have limited time to work on my PhD. Given the fact that at the beginning I was only working, I have learned (almost) the hard way that I have limits and I should not overcome my limits, otherwise I may have a breakdown....
Also I have more faith in myself. I believe I can do what I want to do, and this is very important for me as I did not believe in myself!

1. I have learnt that I give off an air of relentless, fast, competitive performance.

2. I have learnt that people almost never look deeper to see a tremendously emotional person who forms attachments, grieves their losses if they are lost and fears solitude.

3. I have learnt that I feel pain deeper than I ever knew I could feel.

4. I have learnt that somehow my 'performance' overshadows points 2 and 3.

5. I have learnt that Point 4 hurts very very deeply.

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I have learnt that I can endure financial insecurity and skintness for far, far longer than I ever thought possible; that there is an awful lot to writing well... and that I will get there in the end. And that if anyone ever wanted to prove that I am crackers, the years I spend doing this PhD will be their ace card.

I have learned that:

1. I'm keeping my sanity by treating the Phd as a 9-5.

2. Saying that, I treat the thesis as the 9-5 with extra publications, reviews, papers etc written 'out-of-hours'.

3. Writing well is a skill that needs to be worked on.

4. Never compare your progress to other students.

5. Having hobbies outside of the Phd is great for de-stressing. Gym being the main one.

6. I have discovered that I can juggle Phd and family life and that supervisors are very supportive / couldn't really give a crap as long as it doesn't affect them [delete where appropriate]

7. Having babies forces you to focus rather than sapping creativity.

8. The Phd is a test of endurance rather than intelligence.