A few summers ago I waited tables at a restaurant in Wyoming. It was one of the most life-changing and memorable summers of my life. I climbed mountains, ran miles, worked long days at the restaurant, and spent many nights thinking under the most beautiful night sky I have ever seen. It was unreal.
When I tell people about that summer, I am often asked, “How did you end up in Wyoming?” Well, that was easy, it was the first place to offer me a job.
Here’s how I understand circumstances:
When I was considering the job in Wyoming, I had three criteria to be in the blue area of that pie chart.
1) I wanted to be in a memorable location: picturesque Teton mountain range and Yellowstone, check.
2) I wanted to save money: isolated ranch = cheap food + housing, check.
3) I wanted to do something bold: drop everything and go to Wyoming where I didn’t know anyone, check.
Of course, those criteria could have been met at hundreds of places, but I figured I wouldn’t become happy by finding the perfect circumstance. Here’s how I understand happiness:
Sidenote – I think the second dot isn’t quite on the diagonal line because of the initial amount of work I spent taking responsibility for my own happiness, but I’ll have to think about it.
I figured as long as a destination met the criteria to put me in the blue space of the pie chart, I could focus my time and energy on developing that situation, and I could force my way up the happiness spectrum.
In essence, once I arrived in Wyoming, I spent a whole lot of energy meeting new people, finding meaning in training to prepare for an epic cross country season, and developing excellence at my job.
All that to say, this past weekend I went on my first med school interview to Minneapolis. I’ve been pretty anxious and excited the past week, losing an unnecessarily amount of sleep, but it turned out to be a great trip. I found motivated students that I’ve been dying to be in community with since leaving college, a supportive training program that could help me grow, and a pleasant family-friendly city.
Before I went to Minneapolis, I was worried about choosing the perfect post-Portland home, but while I was in Minneapolis I remembered the pie chart. Really, I just had to reassess the criteria to put myself in the blue area of the chart where it would be easy for me to be happy. Three important ones off the top my head:
1) A community of motivated and intellectually stimulating peers
2) A training program that would allow me the independence to flourish but also enough guidance to keep me on the right path
3) A city that is cheap and vibrant enough for my future family
Many schools would land me in the blue, and maybe the school-selecting process will be less anxiety-ridden from here. Of course, I’m sure that will change if I take another trip.
See you on the other side,
from ken
Feel free to comment! I would love to hear your thoughts.
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