The three secrets of PhD Success

Create a Phd that fits your lifestyle and helps you build your dream career with our personalized programs!

Doing a PhD isn't rocket science. To finish it with ease and success you just need these three things :

A goal - so you know where you're going.
A plan - to accelerate your progress without exhausting yourself.
A support system - people who stick with you when things get tough and who cheer for you when you succeed.

No matter what it is that you need most - we've got you covered with our programs!

Get in Touch!

Have a question? Send us a message!

What's the story behind the name WiSible?

It's no secret that despite all the efforts towards equality and all the small and big wins, we - women in general and women in science in particular - are still facing obstacles and hurdles that make it way harder for us to succeed than it is for (white, cis-) men. And the system that maintains all these inequalities isn't gonna change anytime soon.So, if we want to thrive, we have to find our own way through it.One that focuses on collaboration rather than competition.
Mindfulness rather than hustle culture.
Balance rather than burnout.With WiSible I want to empower women to find their way to success, in academia and beyond.Because we have a right to be here, we have a right to succeed, we have a right to be seen, and we have a right to thrive as scientists and humans.

What exactly happens in the courses?

I'll give you a typical scientist's answer: It depends.The cohort courses address the needs of PhD candidates at different points in their journey."Become the CEO of your PhD" is for graduate students who are still at the beginning of their PhD and who want to make sure they set up the project so it brings them closer to their future career goals. To make sure that happens, we cover topics such as project management, goal setting, negotiation tactics (so you can convince your supervisor to let you do the things you want to do), habits for success, mindfulness and sustainability, and strategic networking."Ph*ing Do it!" is all about finishing the PhD. It’s a 90-day challenge that you do together with other PhD candidates with the aim to submit the thesis by the end of the program. Here, we have an intensive kick-off week with calls and exercises where everyone works out their personal finisher’s roadmap. After that, we get on weekly calls where we celebrate successes and solve issues that came up along the way. It’s a mix of hands-on course, group coaching, and peer support. Individual coaching is also available for issues that can’t be solved in the group setting
The courses are a mix of theoretical input and interactive exercises during and between live calls. Every now and then there will be live hot seat coaching for some of you and there will always be room to exchange with your fellow participants.
For every course you will be assigned a buddy or a support group. The women you are connected with are your accountability partners, rooting for you and making sure you stay on track.
Most people will thrive with the resources and support provided in the group programs. But sometimes, you may run into issues that cannot be solved in the group. For those cases I reserve a limited number of slots for individual coaching.

I’m interested in joining one of your programs but I can’t afford them. What can I do?

I get it.
Getting personal PhD support is not a small investment and it can feel crazy or impossible to spend so much money on coaching or a targeted course.But, I want you to consider this: Every month that you submit the PhD sooner, is a month where you will potentially earn more than you do now. Do the maths: How long would it take you to work in your dream job post graduation before the investment pays off? Probably it’s not that long.If you still feel, you cannot afford to work with me, please do have a close look at all the options I offer. If 1:1 coaching is not affordable for you right now, I’m convinced you’d still benefit a lot from one of the courses, and those are much more affordable. Plus, you get the added value of working in a peer group and connecting to likeminded PhDs.If you still feel, the investment is too big, get in touch with me. We can arrange monthly installments, we can discuss discounts if you convince a friend to join the course, too, and maybe there’s even the option that your university sponsors your participation. Let’s talk about it!

April 22, 2026

Issue 62: The mindset shift every perfectionist needs

Yesterday, on one of the first quiet nights since I arrived in the UK, I watched a documentary about Gina Schumacher.She is the daughter of F1 champion Michael Schumacher and one of the world's most successful western riders to date. Like me, she’s been obsessed with horses all her life but, unlike me, she’s also got the unbreakable drive to be the best at her sport.In the documentary, her mother Corinna (an equally ambitious and also very successful rider) explains their work ethos: “if you go to bed at night and you think about what you could do better - and the next day you get up and you work in that - you’ll get somewhere.”Full-on perfectionists.

This week’s spotlight: How to be a perfectionist and still show your work

But, and here’s the learning for all the fellow perfectionists among us. Even though Gina is never entirely satisfied with her performance that doesn't stop her from taking her skill to the market.She competes all the time.Even when she thinks she won’t be good enough yet, she still shows up, and gives the best she can when she's in the arena. Sometimes she fails. But more often, she wins. So often, that she's one of only 15 riders world-wide who have crossed 2 million dollars in prize money.How does she do it?Her family, coaches and contenders say, it's not only her talent and skill as a rider. It is her mental strength that makes her so successful.Here are a few principles she lives by:One percent better every day.
Gina constantly evaluates her work and tries to identify exactly what she can improve. And when she's found a detail that isn't perfect yet, she works on that until she nails it.Don't get hung up on failure.
Of course Gina competes to win but when she doesn't, she won't dwell on her failure. Instead, she focuses on the next opportunity to do better.With this attitude, she's in good company:Roger Federer, one of the most successful tennis players of all times shared a similar mindset in his 2024 Dartmouth Commencement Speech: Federer explained that although he won 80% of all his matches, he only made 54% of all the points.That's how close the players are at the top ranks.So the most critical thing deciding whether or not a player will win is not how technically skilled they are at their game. It's how well they are able to keep their cool. Federer summarizes this into one mantra: "It's only a point." If you lose a point you have to remind yourself that "it's only a point." And if you make the point your mindset still has to go "it's only a point."Once the point is behind you it doesn't matter whether you made or lost it. It's the next point, the one in front of you that deserves all your clarity and focus.Focus on the process.
Of course, professional athletes compete to win, and Gina Schumacher is no exception but the win is not her biggest goal. The biggest goal (after making sure her horses are happy and healthy) is to get one step closer to being at her best. And even the smallest step towards that goal counts as a win.

A quick exercise to try this week

If you feel stuck in your work, reflect:- What’s one imperfect thing you can share this week?
- What's one tiny thing you can tweak to make your work even stronger?
- What's one tiny step towards your goal you can celebrate as a win this week?Take care,Andrea

• Subscribe

March 17, 2026

Issue 60: Trick your mind into productivity with implementation intentions

Last week we crossed the half time mark in the Ph*ing Do it! Finisher's challenge - 6 weeks over, 6 more weeks to go.
And although three months is a relatively short time frame to finish a big project like a PhD it has proven to be the optimal time frame for project sprints because it hits the sweet spot of being long enough to get significant amounts of work done and short enough to be plannable and conceivable for our brains to follow through.That doesn't mean motivation can't hit a slump.So, it felt like a good time to preemptively share a few advanced (and science-based) methods strategies to regain motivation and overcome procrastination (although it turned out it wasn't really needed, they are on great track!). And since my guess is that the topic affects some of you as well every now and then, I thought it's a good idea to share one of the most experimentally tested strategies with you, too.

This week’s spotlight: Make staying on track easier for yourself with if-then-planning

Implementation intentions, or if-then-plans are among the most experimentally validated self-regulation protocols.Although we know from research that setting motivating goals is a key part of success, even strong, goal formulations do not guarantee that the goal will be reached. To put it bluntly, goals are important, but they will not magically become a reality if we don't take action towards them.And taking action is where two major problems typically occur:
We either fail to start a certain action/behavior that would bring us closer to our goal, or we get off track along the way.The reasons will probably be familiar to all of us: We get distracted, we can't get over our old habits, especially when we're stressed, or we simply decide against doing the thing we planned to do because in the moment in question the short-time negative consequence outweighs the longer-term benefit (i.e., we don't feel like eating healthy, working out, putting on sun screen etc. because it's annoying).If-then-plans are an effective way to get over these hurdles because they specify exactly when, where and how we will act towards our goal. By giving us an exact "recipe" of what to do if we encounter a certain trigger they remove friction ("I know I should be doing something to achieve my goal, but I don't know how to get started"), preempt second guessing ("I know I should be doing X but maybe not doing it will be ok as well"), and procrastination ("Now is not a good time").The formula is simple: “If I encounter [situation X], then I will initiate [behavior Y], to achieve [goal Z].”A very specific situation or cue (e.g., "the minute I sit down at my desk at 9am in the morning") prompts one, very specific action (e.g., "I will open the latest draft of my thesis") that is contributing to the bigger goal (e.g., submit the PhD thesis).If that still leaves too much wiggle-room ("what if I get to my desk at 9.15?") you can make it even stronger by connecting your cue to an already established habit ("every time before I get up to make coffee, I will open my draft").The advantage of these simple intentions:Their formulaic nature removes second-guessing, overthinking and decision fatigue. One cue - one action. Simple.
You can come up with them in a moment where your brain is thinking rationally (i.e., not distracted, stressed out or tempted to do something more convenient). Once the cue appears, the response is almost automatic.
And yes, of course this will require some practice and possibly not work every time from day one. But research shows that if-then-plannersact faster
deal effectively with cognitive demands
do not need to consciously intend to act at the critical moment
So, if you've been struggling to stay on track with your goals try to come up with your own if-then-plan:

A quick exercise to try this week

- Identify what self-regulatory problem compromises your goal striving (struggling to start, or struggling to keep going?)
- Select an effective response (goal-striving behavior) and suitable occasion (cue)
- Identify how you can effectively deal with key self-regulatory problems and form an appropriate goal-directed response. This could either be acting on a positive stimulus or ignore a negative one or starting or continuing a goal striving behavior.Again, for this to work it is important that your plan is specific (1 cue -> 1 behavior). In addition the order - first the cue, then the behavior - seems to be critical for success ("I will open my draft every time I get up to make coffee" is less effective than "every time before I get up to make coffee, I will open my draft").Would love to hear how it goes!Take care,Andrea

• Subscribe

March 3, 2026

Issue 59: Are you a settler or a reacher?

I'm subscribed to a weekly newspaper that comes with a magazine. Recently, the newspaper published a letter to the editor where a reader complained that the magazine featured hardly anything but " luxury fashion and furniture that I can't afford anyway."It got me thinking - how do we react (or act) when we notice something is out of our reach?

Spotlight of the week: Are you a settler or a reacher?

Yes, luxury items aren't affordable to everyone. That's the whole point of their existence.But I don't want to talk about the fairness or unfairness of capitalism today. What's more interesting to me is what the writer of that letter made of the fact that they cannot (yet?) afford the stuff that is presented there.In my mind, there are two possible sets of reactions to such a realization:First, there's the one, we've just seen. Frustration, disappointment, emotional disconnect or distance to the products (that apparently do have some value or meaning for the author of the letter, otherwise they wouldn't have taken the time to write it).
I don't know why the person who wrote that letter can't afford luxury products. The reasons are probably complex and at least to some extent rooted in the deeply unfair way wealth is distributed across society. But what I do know is that the attitude that led to the letter will not get the reader closer to being able to afford luxury products, or, for that matter, anything they want any time soon. Why?Because this attitude doesn't spur action.But there's another way how we can react to things that seem to be out of our reach: With inspiration, curiosity, longing, ambition, a sense of possibility.If that is the mindset, I can act when I see something I want but don't have!Instead of thinking "I'll never be able to afford this", I can start collecting creative ways of raising money.
Instead of being greedy of my colleague's last promotion, I can ask them to mentor me in my career.
Instead of settling for a life that is just ok, I can dream of the life I want to have and come up with small concrete steps I can take towards that ideal.Does that mean, that we'll all be sitting by our private pools, sipping Martinis in a few years from now?Probably not (but I'd love an invite if you do ;)).But if we see something we long for and we stop at "I'm never gonna get it anyways", well, then for sure we won't.

A quick exercise to try this week

What's an aspect of your life where you're currently settling? How can you reframe how you think about that part of your life and take a first small step towards your ideal?Take care,Andrea

• Subscribe

February 25, 2026

Issue 58: What to do when there's too much to do

It's the fourth week of the Ph*ing Do it! PhD Finisher's challenge and things are starting to get interesting.If you've been reading along here for a while you know that the structure of the program is pretty straightforward: Everyone creates their action plan for the coming three months in week one, and after that, we just meet every Monday to make sure everyone is hitting their milestones.Sounds simple and in the first weeks, it is.But now, a few weeks into the challenge, it becomes evident that simple doesn't mean easy.This week, one of the participants was quite frustrated to have missed her goal for the week. When I asked her what her work schedule had been like that week she had an presented an impressive list:Mandatory training (every day) plus final exam
Lab experiments
Caring for her young kid
Plus, writing the paragraph of her thesis (her milestone).
"I worked evenings and weekends to make up for lost time but I still didn't manage to finish that paragraph", she shared.

Spotlight of the week: What to do when there's too much to do

I get the frustration and the disappointment. We all know how demotivating it can be when you set a goal and then miss it. But when I heard the list of things she had scheduled for the week, I knew why she didn't manage to write that paragraph. (And I think she realized it too, the moment she said it out loud.)It was simply too much to do in a week.Missing a milestone in a week like that is not a sign for lacking effort, skill or motivation. It's a sign that the plan wasn't fit for reality yet. Acknowledging this is an important first step - and one of the reasons why planning is so important - it allows us to notice when we overbook our calendars. But what can we do if that happens? Because as we all know, it happens all the time.In the call, we discussed four levers we can pull when we realize that we are overcommitted (working nights and weekends is not one of them!):1. Priorities: What of the things on our schedule really makes a difference for our life and longer term (career goals)? Of the things that do, which are urgent (i.e., have to happen this week because the effects of not doing them will have significant negative consequences)?
Anything that doesn't tick those boxes should not get focus time this week.2. Quality: Sometimes (often), we have to do things that don't get us to closer to our goals but we have to do them anyway. In this case, we may buy back some time by doing them with minimal effort. For example, it may not be possible to skip a mandatory training for it but it might be ok to just pass the final exam, and not excel at it.3. Support: In periods when we are drowning in work it can be easy to get lost in a "stress rabbit hole" where we think we have to do everything ourself.And yes, sometimes it does cost time to explain a task so we can delegate it. Sometimes, especially when we're stressed, it can be even harder to give up control on something that is important (and risking further delays).But especially in such times, we should pause for a second, step back and see if there are tasks we can ask for help with.Maybe a lab mate can take process a couple of samples for us. Maybe our favorite nerd friend will be able to spot the bugs in our code faster than us. Maybe our partner, a friend or a family member can take on a bigger share caring for the kids until we get our heads above water again.
It's worth the ask!4. Deadlines: Yes, it's painful to miss a deadline. But sometimes, there's no way around pushing it. And in most cases that's ok!
Especially if it's deadlines we set ourselves, those are arbitrary dates! I'm a big fan of setting them because they let us notice if we are on track and they create pressure that in the best case forces us to reevaluate our priorities and seek support when we need it! But let's be honest most of the time nothing happens if we miss them. So we can just set a new date, redo our planning - with more realistic time frames, priorities and quality standards that align with our lives and longer-term goals, and a functioning support system.And then, we just start over - with kindness for ourselves and knowing that we learned something.

A quick exercise to try this week

Overwhelmed with tasks? Which of the above levers can you pull to relief your stress and progress on the things that really make a difference this week?Take care,Andrea

• Subscribe

February 18, 2026

Issue 57: Don't let your ego get in the way of your progress

Last weekend my family and I visited a children’s museum. We went there mostly for the sake of my daughter — but as I explored the space, I felt like it was speaking to me, too. One artifact especially caught my attention: an installation with tips for becoming an inventor.One of those tips was: “Don’t be scared to fail.”
And somehow, I feel like that’s advice grown-ups need a lot more than children.It made me think of a conversation I had with a client recently who said that her identity had become so entangled with her project that she now struggles to work on it. The stakes have become so high that the project which started out as something she was excited to pour her energy and creativity into has become a burden.

Spotlight of the week: The biggest stumbling block for success - attaching the outcome to your ego

Can you relate?Have you ever felt so excited about a project that you couldn’t stop thinking about it? Did you feel proud knowing it was your ideas shaping it? Eager to get it out into the world? Did working on it feel easy and fun - until it didn’t? Until the excitement and enthusiasm slowly gave way to heavier feelings?I certainly have. And it typically happens when my ego gets in the way.The “ego-free” version of us is carefree - excited, curious, playful - and not worried about results. It explores, builds, and invents for the joy of it. It doesn’t care if the outcome doesn’t match expectations. It doesn’t even have expectations.I see this every day when I watch my little one play with Lego or build jigsaw puzzles. She enjoys the process. And when her huge Lego tower collapses, she just moves on to building the next thing. She’s not attached.As adults, the first phase of a new project can feel just like playing Lego as a kid. Everything seems possible. Ideas are flying around. We feel creative and stimulated. And then, slowly, something shifts. Our focus moves from the process to the outcome.The more thought we put into it, the more effort we make to shape our ideas into something valuable, the more it becomes part of us. And if we spend a lot of time on it we can start to confuse the project with who we are.At that point, we’re no longer simply invested because we love the process.
We’re invested because we have something to lose.And our ego - that vulnerable part deep inside of us that feels like it has to prove itself worthy - does not like that.In entrepreneurship, there’s this mantra:
“Fall in love with the process.”If you don’t love the process that leads to a desired outcome, you’re destined to struggle.Want to have a business?
Fall in love with developing, testing, and refining products.Want to be a scientist?
Fall in love with forming good questions and finding meaningful ways to test them.Because simply put:You can’t get to an outcome you love if you don’t buy into the journey that leads you there.But why is it so important to love the process? And why is that love at risk when we start confusing the success of our project with our identity?Here's the thing:When the outcome becomes part of your identity, the process becomes emotionally unsafe.
Failure in the project becomes personal failure (rather than data about what does and doesn't work).
Effort has to be effective.
Exploration and creativity can feel wasteful.Basically anything that jeopardizes the success of the project jeopardizes your sense of worth. No wonder it gets hard to love the process, right?!I want to offer a little reframe today:What if we can identify with the project as something we believe in, as something we feel is worth trying regardless of whether or not it will be successful? Not as an indicator of our self-worth.Children don’t struggle with loving the process because their self-worth isn’t on the line.Let's learn from them!Take care,Andrea

• Subscribe

February 10, 2026

Issue 56: How to prepare for a leap when you actually love where you're at right now?

Last week, I wrote about the feelings we may experience as we navigate big transitions in our lives or our careers. The topic continues to occupy my mind, both because I'm still in the middle of such a transition (together with an increasing number of boxes) and because it is so present in the Ph*ing Do it! challenge. Just this week, one of the participants shared that one of the biggest roadblocks in finishing the PhD is that he loves where he currently is.Even though he knows that his PhD has to come to an end, emotionally he feels no urge whatsoever to move on.It's not the first time I hear this from final year PhDs. On the contrary, it is pretty common that being too comfortable can be the real, underlying reason for stalling change. And although I know how frustrating this can feel, I think being happy with the status quo and hungry for change is an amazing place to be in.Let's unpack:

Spotlight of the week: How to prepare for a leap when you actually love the place you're currently in

Let's start with the status quo:You're happy with where you are. You like your project, your team, your work environment so much, you don't feel the need to change a thing.But maybe you still feel this nagging feeling that it's time for you to step out of your comfort zone. Either because it has a natural expiration date (even the most patient PhD supervisor will want to see you finish one day) or because despite all the comfortableness you deep down know you want to grow and tackle new challenges.Let me say this one thing first: Being comfortable with where you're at is a great asset!Not having to worry about all the things that could make your life miserable gives you a lot of time and mental bandwidth to intentionally shape and prepare for your leap. And that's good because the fact you're in a comfortable position, doesn't make stepping out of it any easier.Quite the opposite: the fact that you are loving what you have also means the stakes are high.So maybe you're asking yourself some of these questions:
What if I start a new position and I find out I'm not good at it?
What if I don't enjoy it as much as my current role?
What if the new role doesn't challenge me as much as I thought it would?All of these concerns are legit. And it's impossible to remove all uncertainties that come with a new career step.But what you can do: You can set guardrails to guide your decision.Ask yourself: What is important to me? How do I know if something aligns with my values? What are my strengths and shortcomings? What brings me happiness and motivation? What problems do I like to solve? What kind of person do I want to work with or for?Answers to these questions can help you formulate criteria to exclude certain roles and gain clarity about what the new job should offer in order to fulfill you.Next, let's focus on growth:Probably, if you're reading this newsletter, you're someone who likes to learn, to be challenged, and to grow, both personally and professionally. So, as you consider your next career step, one question comes up naturally:What change would constitute a "step up"?How could you scale up what you love so it continues to challenge you? What new facet could you add to nurture your hunger for creativity and exploration?Maybe it's stepping out from under your supervisor's wings. Maybe it's starting to lead your own team. Maybe it's a pivot that allows you to try out something entirely new. It's up to you to decide what a "step up" means to you."But what if I make the wrong choice?"The truth is: there's no way of knowing if you're making the right choice until you've made it. So the question here is threefold:First, how can you make yourself feel safe as you make a decision? Can you find out more about likely consequences of the leap? Can you install fall-back mechanisms? Can you "test" what the change would look like without fully committing yet?Second, what can you do if you do realize you took a wrong turn? The good news is, most decisions aren't irreversible. Even if you do realize the leap didn't get you where you want to be, and even if you can't go back to the happy place you started out from, there's always a way to course-correct.
Take a step back, reassess your values and aspirations and just take another chance.The third and final question here is, how can you manage the risk of losing what you love?What can help here is a perspective shift: Live is never just about gaining or losing. It's always both. Like breath, you can't just inhale without exhaling. So the question is not, what will you lose? Rather, when factoring in the gains and losses, does the whole picture fit with what matters to you?

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

If you're thinking of taking a leap, reach out to a mentor (can be your PI, your manager, or a mentor who has a good understanding for the role you're seeking) and ask them: "Is there anything I need to be doing (differently) now, to be able to attain that type of role?"Take care,Andrea

• Subscribe

February 5, 2026

Issue 55: How to acknowledge, manage and harness the feelings that come with change

I've been thinking a lot about endings and new beginnings these past few weeks.Personally, I'm currently packing up my life in Leipzig and getting ready to move to the UK and it sparks a lot of (mixed) feelings. In my professional life the theme of ending something to start something new keeps coming up as well - in the expert Q+A about post PhD career paths we had last week, and in the discussions we have in the new Ph*ing Do it! Finisher's group that started this week (and is of course all about finishing something to make space for something new).Everywhere, I see a similar complex mix of feelings those big transitions seem to evoke in us, so I decided to give it a closer look this week.

Spotlight of the week: How to acknowledge, manage and harness the feelings that come with big transitions

New beginnings are exciting - and a lot of other things, too.Personally, I have felt (and still am feeling) curiosity and anxiety. I've been sad at times, and energized during others, and it is an ongoing process to acknowledge that all those feelings are ok and allowed to exist at the same time. Taken together, the emotional rollercoaster is "just" a sign, that the transformation in front of us is profound, significant and not something to be taken lightly. But when we take a more analytical look, each of those feelings can tell us something about ourselves - our values, our priorities, and our strengths and our self-sabotage patterns. Let's look at some of those feelings in detail:Sadness: I'll be honest - having to move away from the city where I've lived for more than ten years, fills me with a lot of sadness. It's the place where I met my husband, did the PhD, started a family and a business, and made a lot of close friends.
For a while, I confused not wanting to leave with not wanting to start something new. But there's an important distinction:Sadness is a sign that the chapter that is about to close was good - but it doesn't say anything about the chapter that is about to begin!
Excitement and curiosity: As natural-born learners, new beginnings fill us with excitement and curiosity. New things, places, people or experiences challenge our thinking and often lead to ideas we wouldn't ever have had in the environment we're used to.Change is a great way to foster and train our creativity - regardless of whether you're moving to a new place, start a new job (or quit your old one), or assume new responsibilities in your professional or personal life.Anxiety: The thing with anything new is, there is no way of knowing if it's gonna be any good. Our risk-averse brain that evolved to do one job - keeping us alive- hates that and will do anything to keep us from taking a leap into the unknown.This was arguably key to our success as a species.But in our relatively safe, modern world it has become a liability. Anxiety of losing something dear, while not knowing whether it will be worth it is one of the biggest factors holding us back from going after what we want! It's a big reason why people don't finish the PhD, don't change jobs they hate or don't go for the promotion they've secretly dreamed of for years.Of course, anxiety and consideration of risk is still important. But it's equally important to notice if not being able to let go of something old (i.e. familiar) is holding you back from getting the next thing you're after.An honest analysis of these feelings can be a powerful way to decide for (or) against a change and to prepare for it:
Will the things and people you're mourning really be gone once you start a new chapter? Or do you just need to find new ways to include them in your life?
Are you excited and curious because you're running towards something - or is it a way to avoid work on what's already there?
Is your anxiety triggered by real dangers - or by a diffuse aversion to uncertainty?

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

If you are facing a big transition in your life, notice what feelings it sparks in you.
If you feel sad, analyze what you're afraid to lose - and what you could do to bring the things and people that are important to you into your new chapter.
If you're excited and curious, notice what creative itch you think will be scratched by starting something new - and how you can leverage those feelings to adapt to your new environment.
If you're anxious, what can you do to find out more about the new situation you're going to put yourself into? How can you mitigate possible risks?Let me know how you are dealing with big changes - would love to read your thoughts as I'm dealing with this in real time :)Take care,Andrea

• Subscribe

January 30, 2026

Issue 54:  5 tools elite athletes use to stay confident in a highly competitive environment

As you know, I get to talk to a lot of PhD students but also to more senior professionals from all walks of life. And in these conversations, I keep noticing one thing I still can’t quite wrap my head around:The discrepancy between people’s actual, objective achievements and their self-image.Many of them have made it into the most prestigious and competitive PhD programs or jobs.
Some have publication records most people can only dream of.
Some have been elite athletes, or serve as advisors to high-level committees and boards.Yet when they talk about those achievements, they manage to say, sometimes in the very same breath“I don’t feel qualified,”
“I don’t know how my skills could be of any use,” or
“I hold a PhD in this subject, but I actually know nothing about it.”
Say what?!I’m genuinely puzzled when I hear statements like this.
At the same time, I know these thoughts all too well from my own experience.Got into a prestigious PhD program?
→ I was just lucky and got in before it became really competitive.Published as first author in Science?
→ Yeah, but that was only possible because of my experienced co-authors.Successfully growing a small business?
→ Only happened because friends in my network booked me.The list goes on.From the outside, it’s easy to see these accomplishments for what they are. But internally, we find countless ways to downplay our achievements, our expertise, and the struggles we’ve already overcome.When I wrote about this observation on LinkedIn this week, the post generated five times the engagement I usually see - clearly, the topic struck a nerve. One commenter suggested an interesting angle on how to deal with this pattern:Learn from professional athletes.

This week’s spotlight: How professional athletes deal with self-doubt and impostor syndrome

A lot of negative self-talk is fueled by comparison with others. Athletes operate in an environment where comparison and competition are explicit. It’s literally the point of the game.In high-performance, high-responsibility, and high-impact professional roles, competition is not the stated goal. But in practice, it often feels just as real.As athletes move up to higher and higher levels, and as professionals climb the career ladder and take on more and more responsibility, differences between individuals become smaller, while the comparison bar keeps rising. Competition can become fierce and it's easy to forget or downplay how far you've come.Elite athletes also operate at the limits of what’s physically possible. At that point, “just training harder” no longer works. The mind needs to be trained as deliberately as the body.I got fascinated by the idea and wanted to know: what can we borrow from elite athletic mindset training to feel more confident and grounded in our professional lives?

5 concrete tools from elite athletes

1. Structured self-talk (not just “positive thinking”)You've probably heard of or used positive affirmations. Elite use them as part of their training.Instead of: “I’m not qualified for this”, they train themselves to say:“I’ve prepared for situations like this before.”
“I know how to figure this out.”
“I don’t need to know everything — I need to make the next good decision.”Implementation:
Write down 3–5 short statements that are factual, calming, and actionable. Use them deliberately before high-stakes meetings, presentations, or decisions.2. Mental rehearsalAthletes don't only focus on positive thoughts. They mentally rehearse difficult situations and setbacks, too.They visualize:- mistakes
- pressure moments
- recovery after failureBy mentally walking through such situations they can become less scary, and when they actually happen, the athlete can react more quickly and calmly because they are not hit by surprise.Implementation:
Before an important event, take 2–3 minutes to mentally walk through:- the situation going well, and - something going wrong
- how you respond calmly and competently3. Evidence logs instead of vague confidenceElite athletes track performance metrics relentlessly. This way they can not only see training progress but also remind themselves with "hard data" of the things they are capable of.Implementation:
Keep a simple “evidence log”:- decisions you made that worked
problems you solved
- situations you handled better than expected
- Review it regularly especially when your inner critic is taking over.4. Thought-stopping and refocusingWe've all been trapped in negative thought spirals and we all know they're neither pleasant nor are they helpful. Athletes train to interrupt negative thought spirals with the following tactics.Label the thought: “That’s comparison.”
Interrupt it physically (stand up, breathe, change posture).
Redirect attention to the next controllable action.
No arguing with the thought. Just switching channels.5. Nervous system regulationWhen the nervous system slips into a fight, flight, or freeze response, clear thinking narrows, perception distorts, and even well-trained skills become harder to access.In a regulated state, it’s the opposite: attention is broader, decisions feel less urgent, and you can actually use the experience and expertise you’ve built over time.Here are 3 simple tools to help the nervous system go from fight, flight or freeze to a state where you can actually act like a sensible human:- slow, extended exhalations
- brief physical movement (standing up, shaking out tension, walking)
- grounding through physical sensation (feet on the floor, contact with a surface)

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

Write down three situations from the past year where you were trusted with responsibility - not because you asked for it, but because someone assumed you could handle it.
For each situation, note one concrete action you took that made a difference.
Then ask yourself this question (and answer it honestly, in writing):
If someone else had done exactly these things, would I question their competence or take it as evidence of expertise?
You don’t need to feel confident after this exercise.The goal is simply to anchor your self-image a little more firmly in observable reality.Take care,Andrea

• Subscribe