Wisdom of the Phoenix

The phoenix, a mythological bird has had many fictional revivals of late.  Most notably in the Harry Potter book series.  For those who are not familiar, the phoenix is a mythical bird that in the end of its life bursts into flames until it is only ash and then hatches anew, young and refreshed.  This bird resonates with me in its power to rebuild itself.  I feel like as humans we do this in a less literal sense all the time.  Growing, and evolving, each time renewed as a different version of ourselves.  I like to think that this regeneration is one of the more enjoyable pursuits in life.  This fact is probably why I love graduate school, and running as much as I do.  There is so much learning and growing involved in both.

Graduate school has many cycles of regeneration.  Each breaking down ways of thinking, and perspective to build new.  This process is sometimes short, and other times long.  I would argue that this rebuilding is the one of the most challenging adjustments to graduate work, and one of the most important emotional preparations for success.  The sooner each of us can prepare to embrace the regenerative properties of graduate study the more quickly we can succeed.  The truth of the matter is, there is a great deal of rich feedback available in graduate work and the most successful students find ways to learn from that feedback more quickly and deeply.

I admit this adjustment has been a process for me.  The key from my processing thus far is grappling with the fact that feedback is not personal.  This sounds simple, but piled on with the other emotional adjustments involved in graduate work it becomes more complicated.  Faculty have the courage (sometimes more gracefully than others) to give us feedback to challenge our thinking and encourage our growth.  Even harsh feedback is sent from a place of investment in our growth.  As I write this I find it a hard concept to fully accept, but I do believe it to be true.  This post is a personal accountability to that line of thinking.

One thing that I know is a certainty from my research in teaching pedagogy and learning is that feedback and reflection are keys to learning.  Having the courage to foster feedback (even if it is rough) is critical to the learning that graduate study requires and should promote.  In time with feedback we can be remade into something better and fresh much like a refreshed phoenix.

Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.