Just say it

It has been a while since I have written anything on here. There are several reasons for that and I may eventually explain them. One of them simply is because I have been doing a lot of traveling and interviewing these past several months. I am also speaking at an event at the end of next week and am not even sure what I want to say. I guess I should explain why I am like that.

I do not think of things ahead of time. I do not prepare for interviews. Similarly, I do not have multiple drafts or blog posts or anything else I write. Many times, I do not feel like reading over what I just wrote, which may explain typos or other errors I may have. Just like my blog posts, I wrote my personal statement for residency in one sitting and then submitted it. I knew I could do it. I like it that way.

Why? How is this possible?

Because I speak from the heart. More importantly I am not afraid to show my vulnerabilities.

I feel like preparing things ahead of time or having multiple drafts of something will prevent me from revealing the truth. I do not want to second guess myself. If I say something, it is because I feel it.

Because of this, I do not get nervous when I have to speak publicly. I do not get nervous before interviews, no matter how important they may be.

I do not understand why people get nervous. If they are afraid of the consequences, perhaps of a certain interview or speech they have to give, they need not be. They are who they are; nothing more, nothing less.  If the interviewer does not like you for who you are, you are probably not a good fit there anyway. If one is worried about being judged by others, such as an audience, I must ask:  who are these people to judge you? How do they have a right to make judgments about anyone? They, too, have hopes, have fears and have loves. If the roles were switched, would they have the same concerns?

By fully expressing yourself a lot of times, you are not really showing you are unique. You are showing that you are more similar than they had thought and that they, too, have a secret life just like you.

Do not impress. Do not try to be anything more (or less) than what you are. I have found that by being purely honest and exposing my vulnerabilities—no matter how odd or weak I think I may seem at times—I am able to relate with others and they are able to relate to me. We spend too much time and effort trying to make us seem stronger and more impressive than we really are.

I do believe that this will help me in my future profession as a physician and that having this outlook may help others in their profession, but it should not stop with just our careers. With everything we do, see or talk about in life, we need to realize how connected we are to each other.

This is real. Life is real. We either live without regrets or we watch as it passes us by.