How do you keep your spirits up?

Two of the scariest things for me are asking for help, and facing past mistakes. In the past six months since I decided I was going to do this, I’ve had to face my undergraduate strengths and failings. It’s funny, but looking at my transcripts, science was what I was good at. But I know what I have a lot of hard work ahead of me to make me even a little competitive.


I told myself from the outset that, it could take me until I’m 40 to finish everything, but that even if I don’t try this, I’ll be 40 anyway.


Classes start in two weeks. I am simultaneously excited and terrified.


But I know I have to do this. I just hope I’m good enough. But I guess no matter what, at least I tried.


Thanks for listening.

Funny you should post this because I’ve had my own little struggle this week with the fear/excitement combination. In my case I have an opportunity to gain some shadowing, research and clinical experience all rolled up into one. One minute I feel like a kid on the night before Christmas. The next minute I’m doubting myself and feeling utterly unworthy. Just working up the courage to return a simple phone call had me over taken by a serious case of the butterflies. That would surprise most people who know me.


As I was having my little mini panic attack today, before returning that phone call, it dawned on me that I need to quit giving the demons in my head a voice and just move…take action. So I did. I suppose the same thing would apply in any situation as we go through this process. It’s so easy to get swept up in negative thoughts and fear. I know it’s easier said than done, but sometimes just taking a deep breath and a leap of faith is really the best approach we can take, IMO.


Best wishes to you. Sounds like you’ve thought it all out well, just don’t let yourself get in the way of you (if you catch my drift).

Yep, know exactly how you feel. I am excited and nervous too, with two weeks to go until shool starts for me too. Those few undergrad years on my transcript…they have repeatedly dashed my confidence, when so few things rarely do! I am 34, Director of a biotech company with two kids - how can that still affect me? As the previous poster put it, I am my worst enemy.


I told two friends (not extremely close friends but casual friends) my plans - why I am going back to school. I had not told anyone else but my husband up to this point. It gave me such a boost! There was not a “your nuts” response…and I felt much better once I fessed up and told a few folks. If you have not read the “who have you told about your aspirations” post, go ahead and read some of the replies. That is what gave me the push, the responses were useful.


Seems like alot of us have the same fears. When I feel negative, I sit down and do some pre-reading or work on some chemistry problems…it makes me feel better! Or even reading some of the diaries of old-premeds that are now doctors - that is a real boost!

I whole heartedly agree, give nothing and nobody a voice that is negative. After you have weighed it, and decided upon your goal, move forward. Turn to the people who give pep talks, avoid the people who do not when you are down. For most of us, it’s the strong desire to not have any further regrets. That is a huge motivator.


My desire is so strong that this summer quarter is not killing off my goals and ambitions.

I’m glad I happened across this site. Now 29, I have been toying with finishing my Computer Science degree for a couple of years.


I have been putting it off because I couldn’t see how it would really benefit me at this point… and I have never truly felt fulfilled in the computing field.


So, as we were leaving the OB/GYN (My wife and two girls are expecting a new baby in Feb), I made the comment that I should just start over in Biology and become a doctor.


Somehow, that comment planted a seed that I never expected to germinate as it has. I began to picture myself helping people and appreciating the feeling of being useful and contributing to the health of others.


So, I sat down with my wife yesterday and said - don’t laugh, but I think I want to return to school and become a doctor.


We discussed the time, the money, and the sacrifices we would have to make. We also discussed what my ultimate goals would be and how they would help our family and our children.


I am pleased to say that she is behind me 100%, and that is huge. It won’t be easy… I understand the dual feelings of fear and excitement.


I applied to two local Universities, and it looks like I will be returning to school in a week or two.


It’s amazing how your life can change so suddenly, but I look forward to the challenge, a new direction, and a fulfilling carrer.

I definitely think this site is a god-send, and it’s one of the few things that has kept me going through some self-doubt.


My partner has been amazingly supportive, especially considering I left a pretty good job to pursue this. He knew I wasn’t happy with a desk job, and my parents and my friends have all been encouraging me. I figured the more people I told, the less likely I would be to chicken out.


I have a list of five DO programs and five MD programs on my fridge. I figure that having it staring me in the face will be as good a motivator as anything.


I made mistakes in college, and I can’t undo them. All I guess I can do now is keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I’m terrified. Especially with classes right around the corner, this whole adventure is heavily weighted on how well I do this semester. The pressure is overbearing sometimes, but I cant let it get to me. When I think of this journey, sometimes I get rushes of excitment and other times, I dip into a defeated “what am I thinking” mode. But if I’ve learned anything in the past few years, its that you cant change the past so as Starri said, i’m just going to keep putting one foot in front of the other.


I’m working on telling people my plans though. I’ve had no choice but to tell the people who I’m doing research with and that wasnt as daunting as I thought it would be.

I am repeating my own posts but I think it works here


Rule 10: The FUD factor: Fear Uncertainty, and Doubt


FUD kills off more premeds than any real exam, application, or other hurdle they face. While from a technical aspect I help more people with organization and project management of this undertaking, but it is the FUD that I coach and counsel most people on. People always seem to being caught up in how hard med school, residency, and being a doctor can is and FUD themselves from focusing their time, energy and resouces to get into medical school in the first place.


My “zen view” on this that until the letter the acceptance is in your hand, this is a hypothetical exercise. Until then no nearly absolute committed decision is needed. While doing postbacc, taking MCATs, filling applications are hard, time consuming, and costly, they are nothing compared to the years in training and the debt that will be incurred. Trying to get into medical school costs almost nothing in comparison. Just a little time and a little money with almost no risk. Remember you are not in medical school now. If you do pre-reqs, take the MCATS, apply, and get rejected, you will still not be in medical school, no worse off then when you started. You will have spent a little time and little money in trying. You may decide to give it up, you may decide family life is too impacted, you may just hate O-Chem. But if you stick it out for the 2 or 3 prep years, doesn’t that show a commitment to yourself.


This is why i encourage most people to realize that if you want this, it almost costs nothing to try.

Heh, sometimes it can get really difficult to keep from getting discouraged in this process (especially when you’ve been “pre-med” for ten years like myself - I’ve lost count of how many friends have entered med school and finished residencies while I’ve been plugging away at the GPA!). Here are the things I do that help keep my spirits up:

  • Don’t compare yourself to other people. It’s a very competitive process, and you need to have some awareness of how your peers are doing (otherwise you may end up with the “B is good enough for me!” mentality), but as a non-trad it’s really difficult to make an accurate assessment of yourself. You may think you look weak compared to the 22-yo with a 3.9 GPA and a gold medal in aikido, but you have a lot of different life experiences in your favor, so don’t even try to compare the apples to oranges. All that matters is making the fresh start and acing the new classes (and by that I mean no less than an A-. Those grades matter a LOT, but you’ve got the chops now, and you can do it!)

  • Keep busy with activities in which you’re successful, they give a much-needed confidence boost. A lot of this process seems out of our control (at least at the application stage), so I like to volunteer often, because it give me a sense of agency and I feel good knowing I’m able to help people and make a concrete difference no matter what my “numbers” are.

  • Read some medical books. We all want to be doctors because at a fundamental level, biology and medicine is really cool! And the hepatic vascular system doesn’t care about your sGPA.


    That helps me stay focused on why I want to practice medicine, and keeps my pumped to get through the little discouragements that cross my path.
  • jlr18 Said:
- Don't compare yourself to other people. It's a very competitive process, and you need to have some awareness of how your peers are doing (otherwise you may end up with the "B is good enough for me!" mentality), but as a non-trad it's really difficult to make an accurate assessment of yourself. You may think you look weak compared to the 22-yo with a 3.9 GPA and a gold medal in aikido, but you have a lot of different life experiences in your favor, so don't even try to compare the apples to oranges. All that matters is making the fresh start and acing the new classes (and by that I mean no less than an A-. Those grades matter a LOT, but you've got the chops now, and you can do it!)



The funny thing is, I realize now that what I am capable of at 31 isn't what I would have been capable of at 21. And assuming I ever get to sit in front of an Admission Committee, that's going to be my first answer.

Not doing it and wondering what might have happened scares me more. So, here I go.

What still amazes me is that, despite my doubts, most of me knows this is the right thing to do. I have an uncertain future, and I know I'm going to spend at least the next two years with my nose stuck in a book, but with no full-time job (heck, no part-time job either), and I'm still more at peace with my decision, much more than I ever did in ten years trying for an office job.

I guess you can't learn to swim unless you jump in the water.

I was very confident with beginning school in a few weeks while keeping my full-time job. Just this week though our team is getting hammered by a big project and the tight deadlines which are placed upon us. Lately working 50+ hours a week is the norm.


This shook me up a lot lately, and it still is eating at me. Common sense tells me school comes first, and if I have to, I’ll leave my job for this.


Other times at work I can have downtime which can last several weeks…no joke…i once did practically nothing for about 6 weeks straight at work haha. I miss those days now…

  • starri Said:


The funny thing is, I realize now that what I am capable of at 31 isn't what I would have been capable of at 21. And assuming I ever get to sit in front of an Admission Committee, that's going to be my first answer.



Well said Starri!

Last January (and many January's previous to that) I weighed almost 260lbs at 5'10". I had "tried" to lose weight before, but always the effort was defeatist and short-term.

I discovered a program that seemed impossible to complete... it required that I tightly controlled not just my diet, but the way I looked at food, how I exercised, etc. The whole package.

Beyond the self-dicipline and sacrifice required to make a lifestyle (not short-term) change in my life, it called for a very simple yet challenging component that has nothing to do with eating and working out.

An emotional goal. No, a HIGHLY emotional goal. What did I hope to accomplish when I reached my target weight? What is the motivation?

For me, it was a vision of myself playing with my two girls in the baby pool this summer. With six pack abs!

That single emotional goal simplified all of the rest. It didn't make it easier, but it made me dig deeper and push harder at the moments when I felt I couldn't continue.

Today, over 50lbs lighter, and infinitely healtier, I find myself facing a similar challenge in returning to school to become a doctor.

I will pose the same question to you all... what is your emotional goal? It has to be big... it must be strong, vivid. It can be selfish, be honest with yourself.

When you find yourself doubting and struggling to remember what kind of insanity made you believe you could do this... go back to shchool to become a doctor... that image will fill your mind, and it will re-ignite that fire that is driving you.