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deleted421268
Any of you guys ever feel stressed sometimes thinking about future and if you'll end up making it in this career route or what happens if I can't? The uncertainty. How you cope with that stress?
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Make the uncertainty go away by working your ass off.
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Nothing is for certain, unfortunately. Not just in medicine, but in life. It helps a lot to just accept uncertainty as it is, and realize that all you can control is your actions right now. Easier said than done, but it will help you a lot.
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He's too busy posting low-quality threads on this forum every two days.
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All the time, Fuarky. All the time.
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It should motivate you more, forcing you to become more competitive among your peers..
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Take things one step at a time, otherwise, you overwhelm yourself. Just focus on the step at hand.
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If you keep on worrying about things not working out and it thus prevents you from doing anything, then you will have fulfilled your prophecy.
So quit fussing and start doing. A good chunk of your life will be 100% out of your hands, so deal with it.
So quit fussing and start doing. A good chunk of your life will be 100% out of your hands, so deal with it.
Fuarky said:
Agreed, but hard work does not make all uncertainty go away, unfortunately.
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Have a backup. If you are truly MD potential, your backup will likely still be an above average, intellectually challenging job with decent salary. Realize that your life will be ok (and potentially better) if you have to "settle" for this backup.
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I meant the academic uncertainty, which I assume OP is referring to.
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Yes. But I've been trying to live in the moment...that the time I have now is just as valuable as the time I'll have later, as a doctor or otherwise. It doesn't take away all the stress, because fear happens, but I don't want the stress to get in the way of the other things that I'm doing on my journey.
The above may or may not apply to you, but I think as long as you see this as a small step in a much longer path, the stress shouldn't get you down completely (e.g. keep you from doing others things you like to do or focus on your goals). People have been where you've been. Keep at it!
The above may or may not apply to you, but I think as long as you see this as a small step in a much longer path, the stress shouldn't get you down completely (e.g. keep you from doing others things you like to do or focus on your goals). People have been where you've been. Keep at it!
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Yeah. It's called life. You do what you can, you do the best you can, and when you're knocked on your arse, you pull yourself back up and do it again. More often than not, the problem is extracting one's head from one's behind, and worrying about things you cannot change tends only to fuel this unfortunate predicament.
But more productive ways to deal with stress: For me, I decide whether I can actually do something about the thing I'm stressed about (e.g. what's the problem, can I solve it) and then I outline a plan to do just that (e.g. Problem: uncertainty about getting in to med school bc of grades; Solution/Ends: Get better grades, Plan/Means: outline course schedule, study plan broken down to daily activity lists blah blah blah; Methods for measuring Progress etc....).
If it's something I can't solve (or just anxiety in general), then I rely on a series of skills I've developed over the years to deal with mental stress. I have learned that the mind can be trained like a muscle. You must teach yourself, as one does a dog, to "drop it". You get better (as does the dog) with time.
And of course, the best remedy to a problem is prevention: lead a healthy lifestyle, good food, regular exercise, strengthen your bond with your religion/friends/whatever, practice meditation, etc...
Also, realize the great world doesn't care about you, you are not a unique snowflake. Which means you (mostly) make your own world. That is, though some things are left to chance, for the most part, you make your own luck, and that's something over which you actually have (a fair amount of) control. Rejoice in this, and start working, friend.
Lastly, life moves on, whether you're ready or not. And while this seems scary at times, I also find it quite comforting, knowing that even the worst shall pass.
But more productive ways to deal with stress: For me, I decide whether I can actually do something about the thing I'm stressed about (e.g. what's the problem, can I solve it) and then I outline a plan to do just that (e.g. Problem: uncertainty about getting in to med school bc of grades; Solution/Ends: Get better grades, Plan/Means: outline course schedule, study plan broken down to daily activity lists blah blah blah; Methods for measuring Progress etc....).
If it's something I can't solve (or just anxiety in general), then I rely on a series of skills I've developed over the years to deal with mental stress. I have learned that the mind can be trained like a muscle. You must teach yourself, as one does a dog, to "drop it". You get better (as does the dog) with time.
And of course, the best remedy to a problem is prevention: lead a healthy lifestyle, good food, regular exercise, strengthen your bond with your religion/friends/whatever, practice meditation, etc...
Also, realize the great world doesn't care about you, you are not a unique snowflake. Which means you (mostly) make your own world. That is, though some things are left to chance, for the most part, you make your own luck, and that's something over which you actually have (a fair amount of) control. Rejoice in this, and start working, friend.
Lastly, life moves on, whether you're ready or not. And while this seems scary at times, I also find it quite comforting, knowing that even the worst shall pass.
