“After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill — the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill — you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember: All I’m offering is the truth.”
– Morpheus from The Matrix
Many physicians submit to a life of sterility and dullness — a life where the days, months and years all look the same. You look ahead thinking: Is this it? Is this where my life is going to take me? Unappreciated, under-valued, burdened by administrative B.S., a cog in the corporate wheel — is this my life for the foreseeable future?
This was the internal dialogue going through my head a few years ago when student debt burdened me, and I was working more to pay it off left me with little time for myself. My life was quite similar to the one I had in residency. Of all the extra money I was making, the majority of it went to Uncle Sam and Sallie Mae (Navient). Did I mention I was still working a lot? Weekends, holidays, nights, etc. Life was supposed to get better after residency — wasn’t it?
They say time is money. This is false because money can be made and wealth can increase. Time, on the other hand, is fleeting. Every breath takes us a step away from our birth and towards our inevitable end. This realization hit me hard and led me to reflect deeply on my situation. I was at a crossroads and had a decision to make. I could take the blue pill and continue living a jaded and unfulfilled life. Or I could pull myself out of the matrix and try something different. But how?
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