This post tried to answer the grim accounts of doctoral study that circulated online. Its three suggestions concern play, tolerating controlled failure, and maintaining parts of life that do not depend on academic approval.
The longest example comes from Brazilian jiu-jitsu, where early failure is immediate and public. The comparison is imperfect, but it gave the post a concrete way to discuss repeated correction without turning every setback into a judgment about ability.
Related: Research Musings (2014) · Living a smaller life