Relationships in med school pt 6: pursuit of greatness, romanticized?

You probably saw this viral pep talk by a five year old:

If you haven't seen it, it's an inspiring video, but it raises some questions. Has the pursuit of greatness become too romanticized? If you're single, and committed to the dream, you can go all-in for a pursuit of greatness. But if you're married, how far do you go? How fun do you think it is to be married to Kobe Bryant? 

There's something to be said for being boring. Adults become boring because boring is stable. If you're boring: you might be bringing in a stable income and you might be mentally sane enough to manage a committed relationship. Both good things.

We had a Careers in Medicine lecture today about general surgery. It sounds super exciting, and there are many days when I find myself thinking surgery. Cutting people open, saving lives, getting paid the big bucks, living the dream. But according to the American College of Surgeons: "You will be working approximately 80 hours per week and you will be spending a large portion of your time at home sleeping. The time schedule might make you and your family chronically unhappy."

If there's anything I don't like, it's my wife being unhappy. Not because I'm a martyr or anything like that, I'm just conflict averse. Is it really worth it to pursue greatness? What happens when you burn all your bridges in the pursuit of greatness? From the outside it's kind of romantic to watch someone as passionate and single-minded as Kobe.. but would you want to be him?

See you on the other side,

from ken

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