Success in any aspect of life is the result of so many different factors all melting together in such a way that distilling any one out is very difficult. However, looking back at my life and from examining the lives of so many successful people, one factor always seems to stand out to me. And that is the importance of showing up every day.
Let's examine…
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The importance of showing up every day
Let's start this with an example that I think will resonate with every doctor reading this.
Imagine that you are the program director of a residency program. Could be any residency program. Could be any specialty. And even if you don't currently work with residents, you likely did at one time. Or at the very least, you used to be a resident so you can relate.
Anyway, you are the program director and are deciding between two candidates to join your residency program for the next 3-6 years depending on specialty.
Candidate A: Top test scores. Letters of recommendation highlight pristine clinical knowledge but allude to lapses of inattentiveness or “clinical laziness” at times.
Candidate B: Average to above average scores. Letters of recommendation allude to average “book” clinical knowledge but second to none clinical appetite to learn and improve as well as attentiveness.
Which would you take?
This is obviously a contrived example but I think all of us would prefer to take Candidate B. Because we all know just how important showing up every day with the right attitude, work ethic, and humility is to becoming a good doctor.
The 2 best things about showing up every day
The first best thing is that it costs nothing to show up every day.
It can be very refreshing and freeing to realize that you don't ever need to be the best. At anything. You just need to always try your best and give your best effort. It sounds overly simplistic but it's true.
And the second best thing is that the more you show up, the more chances you have at success. Because, just like I talk about here, the longer you stay in the game, the luckier you get and the more good things seem to happen to you.
My strategy for showing up every day
Showing up every day is simple. But, just like reaching financial freedom, that doesn't make it easy.
Some days we just don't have the energy. Or things just aren't going our way. Or any other number of seemingly valid but ultimately arbitrary excuses that we can give ourselves.
And I say that with absolutely no judgement. Because just yesterday was one of those days for me. Which is what spurred me to write this post! Because I got to thinking about how I needed to change things and show up yesterday. Just like I needed to the day before. And I would need to the day after.
And the strategy that works for me is to focus on making the next right move
Again, this sounds so simple to say. But it can be hard to do in practice. Life is complicated. And things pretty much always can seem overwhelming. The problem becomes when that “overwhelm” gets the best of us and we stop focusing on what is right in front of us.
Even when it seems like 100 things are happening at once, there is always just one moment, one “thing” that is really right in front of us.
And all that we can really do in that one moment is to take the right action, to do the next right thing. That's all we can control.
And that is what it really means to show up
It means doing our best and taking the next right step. No matter what. Despite everything else going on trying to distract us. It means not giving in to the overwhelm.
It also means giving yourself grace when you fail. Because you will. I know I do on a daily basis.
But thankfully, showing up every day means that you never give up or stop trying!
So, show up every day…
…as a parent…
…as a doctor…
…as a friend…
…as a sibling…
…in any role you play in life!
And if you are looking to figure out the simple (but not easy) habits needed to show up every day in your quest to achieve financial freedom, check out my best-selling book, Money Matters in Medicine!
What do you think? How can we show up every day? Is it really that important? Or that hard? Let me know in the comments below!
