It's only a week into my USMLE Step 1 preparations and I'm already starting to feel tired. I think it is easy for people doubt themselves and question, "can I do this" whenever one starts working to achieve a new difficult and challenging project. Last night, I started feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work to do and started wondering if I can do it. There are times that it is really easy to sit down and study for hours and other times when it is not so easy--last night and this morning, it hasn't been so easy. I took a little study break last night and while looking around online I found a few words of encouragement:
"The greatest danger for most is not that our aim is too high and we miss, but that it is too low and we reach it."--Michelangelo
"Don't bunt. Aim out of the ballpark. Aim for the immortals"--David Ogilvy
When I started doubting myself last night, I thought something on the lines of "don't make your goal so high--then you won't feel overwhelmed." Then I saw the above quotes. It really made me think twice about lowering my goals. I've set my goal so high that realistically, I might not be able to reach it. But, who cares? So what if I don't reach that extremely high goal? Even if I miss my goal, I'll still score higher than what I thought I could initially score when I started making goals last May. I've decided to keep my goal sky high and do everything I can to reach it.
"First say to yourself what you will be and then do what you have to do."--Epictetus.
This really describes my medical school path. I first wanted to be a physician at age six when my maternal grandmother was dying of colon cancer. I didn't get into medical school right after college so I gained priceless experience as a clinical researcher. Then I took a huge risk and moved to a third world Caribbean nation that I'd never heard of before. I didn't just survive the experience, I thrived. I never expected that I would have done so well in Dominica--heck I don't even go camping! I really don't want to move back, but overall, life in Dominica was pretty great--excluding the bugs, brown and cold water and lack of groceries. If you want something enough, you just do what you have to do to reach your goals. Sometimes I think about the future--such as the USMLE, moving to Chicago, Washington D.C. or New York City (most likely New York)--and I get overwhelmed. But, I have to remind myself that I've done it before and saw success in my first two years of medical school. Besides, I decided I'm going to be a physician and now I'll do what it takes to get there--I've already done so much!
"Some give up their designs when they have almost reached a goal, while others, on the contrary, obtain victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than before"--Herodotus
Strangely enough, just admitting that I feel overwhelmed at times has already made me feel more confidant. I know I can do great on these boards and I know that I have the motivation to work hard to achieve my goals. Speaking of hard work, it is time to exert "more vigorous efforts than before!"
You'll do well on this board I know you will you always come through!!!!!!! Love you
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