Chapter 9: The Power of Self-Compassion in the Doctoral Journey

Why do we embark on the doctoral journey? How do we portray our identities throughout the experience? How do we treat ourselves as we face trials and challenges? What emotions do we feel as doctoral candidates?

Joseph Campbell, in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1973) studied the archetypal structure of legends and stories from many different cultures that tell the journey of the hero/heroine and their transformation. Campbell found that in all these stories the same structural patterns move the story forward (Ingersoll & Adams, 1992). The structural pattern in these stories includes a call to adventure, crossing the threshold, the ordeal, the breakthrough, and the return (Houston, 2012). As I have reflected on and attempted to write my story, I’ve come to realize my journey has indeed been a heroic one.