Where's your money at?
Congratulations! You are a contestant on the epic Canadian game show "The Amazing Hike." Over the course of two weeks you and a randomly selected teammate must hike across a rugged and heavily forested region of northern Ontario. Each team will be given basic supplies and then air dropped at a random
location approximately two-hundred kilometers from the final destination
point. If you make it to this point before all of the other teams you will win a huge cash prize! There's only one catch...
It's a compound kind of life
Have you ever met someone who seems to be wildly successful in every way? They're crazy happy, healthy, hilarious, generous, have a great career, a wonderful spouse, and an incredible array of close friends. Their journey through life appears smooth and effortless, skipping over difficult obstacles like they were nothing and laughing all the way!
Conversely, have you ever met someone whose life is a total disaster? Every problem is twisted into a complicated and seemingly inextricable knot with all of their other problems. Even if they could summon up the requisite courage to stage an assault on their tribulations you wouldn't have a clue where they should begin.
In both of these cases the question invariably arises, "How does someone get like that?"
Within the first context, we might answer this question with a sigh of longing and perhaps a "I don't know, but that will never happen to me..." In the second, we might answer with a sigh of relief and another chorus of "I don't know, but that will never happen to me!" Becoming like these individuals seems extremely unlikely because their reality seems so far away from our own. However, I think that we are far closer to becoming like either of these people than we might think! Here's why...
Conversely, have you ever met someone whose life is a total disaster? Every problem is twisted into a complicated and seemingly inextricable knot with all of their other problems. Even if they could summon up the requisite courage to stage an assault on their tribulations you wouldn't have a clue where they should begin.
In both of these cases the question invariably arises, "How does someone get like that?"
Within the first context, we might answer this question with a sigh of longing and perhaps a "I don't know, but that will never happen to me..." In the second, we might answer with a sigh of relief and another chorus of "I don't know, but that will never happen to me!" Becoming like these individuals seems extremely unlikely because their reality seems so far away from our own. However, I think that we are far closer to becoming like either of these people than we might think! Here's why...
A graduation present
You're about to complete your PhD after four or more years of post-post-secondary. Do you know where your savings are? Think you have none?
That's about $4200 shown above (no it's not mine...yet). Looks pretty sweet though doesn't it? But if I had to choose between this stack of bills and the stack that could be waiting for us at the end of our degrees, I'd choose the latter. You would too...
That's about $4200 shown above (no it's not mine...yet). Looks pretty sweet though doesn't it? But if I had to choose between this stack of bills and the stack that could be waiting for us at the end of our degrees, I'd choose the latter. You would too...
A Badass training ground
The sight of all that water just makes you feel good doesn't it? We need it to live, we are over 50% composed of the stuff, and most folks agree that we originated from it. This uncomplicated love affair isn't going to appear on the day time soaps any time soon. Trouble is, this is a coastal beach in Australia. All that water is undrinkable unless you carry around a desalination plant in your pocket!
In May of this year, I had the incredible opportunity to go to Australia for a conference and then hostel my way up the coast. In summary, it was fricking awesome! One of the things that really struck me though was the lack of fresh water there. I noted that every hostel I stayed in had a sign indicating that showers should be kept to a maximum of 5 minutes in length.* Here in Canada, the supply of fresh water really isn't something we tend to think about very often. For all intents and purposes, we have ALL the fresh water! Actually about a fifth of "all" of it, but we only constitute about 0.4% of the world's population. Lucky us!
What happens though when you have a lot of something? You don't have to keep track of it, you don't have to conserve it and you certainly don't have to learn to use it efficiently. In the absence of external pressures there is just very little reason to do otherwise. Behaviour and expectations begin to change over time. Demand naturally begins to exceed the actual need and then if enough time passes the increased consumption is perceived as "needed." However at this point, from a purely functional perspective, the increased level of consumption IS needed. This is because the ability/expertise/knowledge of how to get by just as happily with less is lost through disuse. All of a sudden, a maximum 5-minute shower becomes a noteworthy challenge...
So what else does Canada have "all" of?
Bait and switch
Man am I behind on my writing! This is the first time since starting this blog that I have not found the time to put together a coherent post. The week has seemed incredibly busy. Perhaps writing about mid-life PhD crises caused me to unknowingly step up my research game this week leaving me less time for writing. Or maybe it was the recent time change. Yes...definitely the time change.
Rather than posting something I don't feel good about or posting nothing at all, I've decided to pull the ole bait and switch.
The decision to go to grad school can be motivated by many different factors. However, I believe that it is safe to suggest that one of the key reasons people sign up for another round of post-secondary is because they believe it will somehow benefit them later on (i.e. mind, body, spirit, wallet). This represents the classic "trade-off " between short and long term gain. However, since grad school involves a pretty large additional time investment it's pretty easy to be tempted or bothered by alternative choices that might lead to more immediate gains.
Now, here comes the bait and switch. One of my favourite bloggers, "David" from Raptitude, recently wrote a fantastic and incredibly relevant post on the subject of maintaining self discipline within these trade-off type situations. "The elegant secret to self discipline" is definitely worth a read for anyone who is focused on long term success. In general, his posts are all very thought provoking and well written so take a moment to look about while you're there!
Next week I'll be back in action with more content! Have a great weekend!
Anthony
Rather than posting something I don't feel good about or posting nothing at all, I've decided to pull the ole bait and switch.
The decision to go to grad school can be motivated by many different factors. However, I believe that it is safe to suggest that one of the key reasons people sign up for another round of post-secondary is because they believe it will somehow benefit them later on (i.e. mind, body, spirit, wallet). This represents the classic "trade-off " between short and long term gain. However, since grad school involves a pretty large additional time investment it's pretty easy to be tempted or bothered by alternative choices that might lead to more immediate gains.
Now, here comes the bait and switch. One of my favourite bloggers, "David" from Raptitude, recently wrote a fantastic and incredibly relevant post on the subject of maintaining self discipline within these trade-off type situations. "The elegant secret to self discipline" is definitely worth a read for anyone who is focused on long term success. In general, his posts are all very thought provoking and well written so take a moment to look about while you're there!
Next week I'll be back in action with more content! Have a great weekend!
Anthony
Half way there and livin on a prayer
Alarm. SMACK! It's 7:10 am. I turn on the lights and stumble out of bed. For some reason the air is heavy and it seems darker than usual outside. Some primitive sense of foreboding has already taken hold of the day and it's only 7:12 am. As I walk out of my room, the shelf full of random whittled mementos from past camping trips catches my eye.
Maybe I could just live in the forest permanently? Yes. Perfect. Then I could whittle and chop wood every single day and I wouldn't have to go to work at all. I would build multiple shelves to hold all of my 'creations' and a log cabin to provide shelter in the winter and...As my brain wakes up a bit it chastises me with unassailable logic. "Get ahold of yourself man! You could never grow the necessary beard to make that plan work!". Defeated, I begrudgingly move on to the kitchen but decide not to shave that day in quiet protest. I eat breakfast, make my lunch, and hop on my bike to ride to work.
A couple of kilometers along I feel an unusual weariness in my legs. I must be going slower than usual. "I should buy a faster bike!", I think to myself. I come to a stop at some traffic lights just as a stunningly attractive, but slightly younger, girl cycles past in the other direction. The light turns, and my mind shifts gears as quickly as the car trying to speed past me off the line. "Maybe I should ask out one of the new grad students in the department! No, no, no, wait a minute. Better get a faster bike first!"
Finally I arrive at the office. By this time my brain has fully awakened and it starts to plan out the day's endeavours. Absently it takes notice of the date. Uh oh. The feeling of foreboding comes on with full force. I knew there was something wrong with today! It's exactly 2 years since I started my PhD. I am supposed to be half done but I don't have anything! Nothing thesis-worthy in the last two years!!! Suddenly the morning began to make sense. The escapism. The desire to purchase a faster "vehicle". The thoughts of dating a younger grad student. It could mean only one thing...
Of milestones and manuscripts
Lectures, lectures, assignments, lectures, mid-terms, lectures, assignments, lectures, finals, finals, GRADES, GRADES!
Lectures, lectures, assignments, lectures, mid-terms, lectures, assignments, lectures, finals, finals, GRADES, GRADES!
Badgers badgers badgers badgers badgers badgers badgers badgers…
Oh the sweet predictable embrace of undergrad! Sometimes I miss you!
Anthony - "Tell me I'm good! And smart! And doing all the right things in life!"
University - "Well Anthony, here are your grades this term. You're dreadful at stats, but your average is respectable. Thumbs up buddy!"
Anthony - "Thanks friend!"
Of course undergrad was never this easy. Though I’ve tried to block them all out, I can still recall many nights working on assignments that ended with me rocking back and forth in the fetal position wrought with existential angst and a growing inferiority complex (the early warning signs of a future grad student?).
However, a key challenge in graduate school is the transition to an entirely new milestone and reward structure. In undergrad, milestones are laid out for you. Everything is modular and progression (or lack thereof) is usually pretty clear when you receive grades at the end of each term. You never go more than a couple of months without being provided with some sort of external validation. High grades are the reward for your hard work and dedication.
So what is the milestone and reward structure in a research oriented graduate program? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Gone drinkin?
One of the many fantastic things about grad school is that the undergrad party spirit lives on! Parties for holidays both real and made up, get togethers for successful defenses, Thursday night 'box socials'. In addition, as R. Black, one of the great lyricists and philosophers of our time once said,
It's Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend, weekend!
To top it all off, according to Miss Black, Saturday comes after Friday!?! Damn, how are we ever going to keep up with all of this without going broke?
As mentioned in the first post, this blog is about both happiness and wealth so here is the first post on actually saving some coin! Below are four of my favourite strategies for keeping the good times rollin without breaking the bank!
It's Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend, weekend!
To top it all off, according to Miss Black, Saturday comes after Friday!?! Damn, how are we ever going to keep up with all of this without going broke?
As mentioned in the first post, this blog is about both happiness and wealth so here is the first post on actually saving some coin! Below are four of my favourite strategies for keeping the good times rollin without breaking the bank!
Battling an old instinct with a new habit
You struggle to temper your breathing as you remain out of sight in some brush beside a clearing in the forest. Your heart beats like a drum. You strain to be hyper aware of everything around you all at once as you await a sign from another member of your tribe. Failure is not an option. Winter is coming. Everyone depends on this hunt. One false move and it’s a quick painful death for you or a slow painful death for everyone.
FLASH! Suddenly you are transported many hundreds of thousands of years forward (actually around a million by most estimates) to approximately 10000 BC. You look out upon a sad patch of wilted crops. “This was such a good idea last year” you think to yourself. “If we don’t get some rain soon we may have nothing to eat at all. If only we had followed that herd and spent our time hunting instead of staying put...”
FLASH! Fast-forward just over a paltry eleven thousand years to 1347 AD. Over a third of everyone you know in the city has died and more get sick every day. The doctor said something about “bad air.” You start to panic as you realize the room feels stuffy. You quickly open all the shutters and think about how you can’t afford any incense.
FLASH! Six-hundred and sixty-six* years later and over a million years from whence you began, you’re finally back at your desk. You breathe a sigh of relief, but grow a little agitated as you remember that the blog post you’re reading is supposed to be about ‘wealth’ and happiness in grad school.
There is no doubt about it - humans have been struggling to survive throughout our entire evolutionary history. The survival instinct has been hard-wired into our brains. But we do not survive by running quickly or fighting fiercely. We survive because we have developed a keen ability to anticipate what could go wrong, identify what is missing, and seek out appropriate solutions.
FLASH! Suddenly you are transported many hundreds of thousands of years forward (actually around a million by most estimates) to approximately 10000 BC. You look out upon a sad patch of wilted crops. “This was such a good idea last year” you think to yourself. “If we don’t get some rain soon we may have nothing to eat at all. If only we had followed that herd and spent our time hunting instead of staying put...”
FLASH! Fast-forward just over a paltry eleven thousand years to 1347 AD. Over a third of everyone you know in the city has died and more get sick every day. The doctor said something about “bad air.” You start to panic as you realize the room feels stuffy. You quickly open all the shutters and think about how you can’t afford any incense.
FLASH! Six-hundred and sixty-six* years later and over a million years from whence you began, you’re finally back at your desk. You breathe a sigh of relief, but grow a little agitated as you remember that the blog post you’re reading is supposed to be about ‘wealth’ and happiness in grad school.
There is no doubt about it - humans have been struggling to survive throughout our entire evolutionary history. The survival instinct has been hard-wired into our brains. But we do not survive by running quickly or fighting fiercely. We survive because we have developed a keen ability to anticipate what could go wrong, identify what is missing, and seek out appropriate solutions.
A hidden benefit of "delaying" your life
“I wish, that, I knewww what I knowww now - when I was younger!” Damnnn that's a catchy tune!
I think the reason it sticks is because we’ve all felt this way at some point or another. Maybe if I knew what I know now when I was younger, I would have pursued an undergraduate degree that made me directly employable. I would then proceed to greet any discussion of grad school with wild eyes and disturbingly intense laughter. Whoever brought up the subject would still be able to hear the sounds of my mania off in the distance as I sped away in the brand new two door Audi S5 that I purchased with all that sweeeeeet disposable income! Aghhhhhhhhhh. hgfvjbnkbjhvnk. Sorry, had to wipe a bit of drool off the keyboard!
The 'wealthy' grad student begins
Hi.
My name is Anthony, and I'm an alcoho-...grad student. I have spent
some four years in grad school so far, two years for my master’s and now
am “half way” through my PhD. For myself (and many other students) the
prospect of graduating in another few years is slightly terrifying. As I
write this first post I feel a sudden urge to
watch "The Shawshank Redemption" on repeat so that I might convince myself that lugging
out a pocket full of rocks each day over many years will eventually lead
to sweet sweet freedom!
For anyone who is/has been a grad student, or who knows one, it is probably clear that graduate students sometimes struggle with keeping up morale. A grad degree can be like walking through a long dark tunnel where you cannot tell if you are moving forward or backward. The light at the end of “the Grunnel” becomes apparent only when you are already there. For this reason...
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