It’s the end of the year and also my birthday month, a time for reflection on areas of my life – my personal life, of course, but also my consulting and teaching life. This note is about the latter.
Over the past few days, I’ve been looking through the list of students and faculty I’ve worked with this year. Master’s students, doctoral candidates, working professionals returning to study, medical registrars on impossible call schedules, and researchers somehow finding study time in already demanding lives.
I continue to be in awe.
Some of you have worked against the greatest odds: family responsibilities, health issues, limited time, datasets that fought back, supervisors who were beyond busy, and chapters that simply refused to behave. And yet you achieved. You persisted. You kept going.
I am continually struck by your resilience, your discipline, and the inner strength you often don’t realise you have. Consulting and teaching are not one-way streets; I grow because of the work we do together. Thank you for that. It’s a privilege to work with you.
And as this month races to the end of 2025, my message to you is:
Push on. Trust your inner strength, even if you can’t feel it right now.
And if that ‘giving up’ feeling niggles, remember that you can always reach out. Sometimes a conversation, guidance, or a hand in your data analysis is all it takes to help you succeed.
You can. And you will.
I look forward to hearing from you and working with you in 2026.
Wishing you clarity, momentum, and a healthy, successful finish to the year.
Contact me at [email protected] or on LinkedIn if you need help with your data analysis or any aspect of your dissertation or publishing.