On Consistency
In this new year, allow yourself some mediocrity.
“Every habit and capability is confirmed and grows in its corresponding actions, walking by walking, and running by running . . . therefore, if you want to do something make a habit of it.” - Epictetus
One of the most annoying things you’ll learn as a doctor is that disease doesn’t own a calendar. It doesn’t care about your Christmas, your birthday, or your mood.
While the rest of the world is sleeping off a hangover or driving to the coast with the windows down, I’m putting on scrubs. The hospital smells the same on a holiday as it does on a Tuesday: antiseptic, the gore of a gangrenous wound, and coffee.
I’m going to be honest with you. However cool my job is, I really don’t like being at work on holidays. I like laying in bed staring at the ceiling, calculating exactly how late I could get to work and still keep my job. Or how early I could leave, crossing my fingers not to be called back. The lethargy is heavy enough to break bones. So I usually make a dea…
