I'm in the final stretch of my PhD in philosophy. I'm writing about theories of consciousness. It's abstract, it's messy, and it's never, ever finished. There's always another objection to anticipate, another thinker to engage with, another nuance to add. 
My advisor, who is usually very critical and demanding, read my latest draft and said something that shocked me. He said, "This is good enough. Stop adding. A good dissertation is a done dissertation. Submit it."
And instead of feeling relieved, I felt... panicked.
How can it be "good enough"? Good enough for whom? There's a paragraph in Chapter 3 that I know is weak. There's a counter-argument in Chapter 5 that I only addressed superficially. I feel like I'm submitting something unfinished, something that doesn't represent my best work. 
My friends who have already graduated tell me this is normal. They say everyone feels this way. They say no dissertation is perfect, and the goal is just to contribute something to the conversation. But my brain won't accept that. It keeps screaming, "But what if someone reads it and finds the flaw? What if I get demolished at my defense?"
I've been living with this topic for 5 years. It's been my entire identity. The thought of just... releasing it into the world, flaws and all, is terrifying. It feels like sending a child out into the world wearing a mismatched outfit.
How did you guys get over the perfectionism hump? How did you convince yourself that "done" is better than "perfect"? I need a pep talk.
My advisor, who is usually very critical and demanding, read my latest draft and said something that shocked me. He said, "This is good enough. Stop adding. A good dissertation is a done dissertation. Submit it."
And instead of feeling relieved, I felt... panicked.
How can it be "good enough"? Good enough for whom? There's a paragraph in Chapter 3 that I know is weak. There's a counter-argument in Chapter 5 that I only addressed superficially. I feel like I'm submitting something unfinished, something that doesn't represent my best work. My friends who have already graduated tell me this is normal. They say everyone feels this way. They say no dissertation is perfect, and the goal is just to contribute something to the conversation. But my brain won't accept that. It keeps screaming, "But what if someone reads it and finds the flaw? What if I get demolished at my defense?"
I've been living with this topic for 5 years. It's been my entire identity. The thought of just... releasing it into the world, flaws and all, is terrifying. It feels like sending a child out into the world wearing a mismatched outfit.
How did you guys get over the perfectionism hump? How did you convince yourself that "done" is better than "perfect"? I need a pep talk.
