Monday, January 12, 2015

Self doubt and low self esteem

"When med students ask you about whether they have what it takes to get through med school or if they deserve to be here - You tell them that they made it this far, they were already good enough to even get into a med school, they have the skills. But what if you never deserved to be at med school and got in because you paid money to get the admission and belong go a well off family? What if your scores were just average?

I always had dreams of being a doctor. I want to work hard and I want to help people. The thing about not deserving to study medicine, low self esteem and self doubt is getting me down so bad.

How do I deal with that? Please help me, looking forward to your honest reply." -Asked on Tumblr

Everybody has their moments of low self esteem. We have different reasons for why we doubt our abilities.

I'll tell you about mine, for example. After I cleared my exam and got into med school, I thought, "What if I really got through the entrance based on pure luck? What if I just marked the right answers, got a good score and I don't really deserve to be here?" After being transferred to an academically better med school, "These kids are really smart. I just got here because of the transfer. I don't belong here."

Honestly, no one knows for sure whether they deserve it, whether anyone deserves anything. So that's not even a valid question to ask ourselves, but we are so programmed to be negative that we still do. We drown ourselves with doubt and fear. We need to tell that negative inner voice to shut up!

You are not average. You have infinite potential within you. Your premed score doesn't determine who you can or can not be. At this present moment of time, I think it doesn't matter who you are or where you came from or how you got here - Here you are. So let's do this!

Your dreams will drive you to work when you have low self, hold on to it. Write it down, why you really wanted to be here. Write about how your passion will separate you from others. Anything positive about you, write it down and read it thrice a day. It'll really help you get out of the negativity you've created for yourself.

Once you get rid of your low self esteem and self doubt, you'll start to work towards your dream. And it's an uphill from there. The work reinforces you to learn more. You discipline yourself to achieve what you desire. Your work starts to speak for you. It glows out of your personality from within. Who you were separates out from what you do.

Also, in the movie Kung Fu Panda, Po thinks he fell out of the sky and didn't deserve to be the Dragon warrior. But look what happens once he starts to believe in himself! So don't doubt yourself. Believe and just start working. And watch the movie if you haven't :)

Oh and here's something by Les Brown that you should read:

"Be careful of your self-talk. Without monitoring your mind and your mouth, the majority of what you say to yourself can poison your attitude, weaken your spirit, drain your energy. Be aware that, left unchecked, the negative storyteller in your brain can shut down your faith, amplify your fears and activate a spirit of hopelessness and self-sabotage. Turn off and banish the automatic negative thoughts that will ruin your life if you let them.

Learn to keep your heart open and love yourself unconditionally. The universe is on your side waiting for your next move. Celebrate what's working in your life. Focus on the positive and on what you can do right now. Give thanks for what you have and that you're still here. That alone says that your life still matters. You have something special. You have GREATNESS within you!"

9 comments:

  1. hey di! I love your Blogs. They are just what I need, everytime! Thanks alot for all the motivations and guides... :)) I'm a first year medical student.. I really want to top my University Exams..also do well in PG entrance and get into AIIMs..please do share your study strategies of first year and how to start preparing for pg...I still didn't master planing perfectly!

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    1. hey..I am the same person..had no idea about USMLE..thanks for that :))

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    2. Hey love! Thank you so much. I'm glad they are helping and motivating you.

      Study for Universities well for now. You can do mcq books after you've done theory well!

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  2. You have such an interesting blog. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed reading your posts. All the best for your future blogging journey.

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  3. I ave also read so many books about how we can get rid of negative thinking. Nd this idea of giving constant positive autosuggestions is hundrer percent effective.

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  4. You are really awesome! :D These words are really true and very much inspiring. :)
    (Love the KungFu Panda reference haha!)
    Keep it up!

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    1. Thank you so much :D

      The Kung Fu Panda inspiration just came to me! It's my favorite movie ever :)

      Delete

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