If you ask any physician, assuming they are willing to be honest with you, what is it that they fear the most, I think one of the most frequent responses will be: "The fear of losing my license". Now although the license to practice medicine is in and of itself significant to the individual, it is often more what it represents to the individual that is important. So what does it represent? Well many unconsciously see it as the only way to earn a living for one. This often reflects how deeply conditioned such individuals have become, most since childhood, to be "caretakers" of others. The adoption of such a role often comes out of desperate need to get a family member's love and appreciation and therefore to help them survive. This caretaker role becomes so tied to their self image, their self esteem and sense of self worth that losing one's license feels like an attack on the very essence of their being. In other words, a loss of license is taken as a message that they are no longer needed or wanted here on this planet. Needless to say this can lead to significant feelings of depression, and may lead some to suicide. What impact does say carrying such a fear within one have on one's ability to function? Well if you are a physician and you contemplate holding this fear in mind the next time you are attending to a patient notice what it does to you. What happens to your ability to stay focused, to your concentration, to your ability to have a clear mind, to your ability to make good objective decisions, to your anxiety level, to your energy, to your resilience when something untoward happens and so on? Clearly none of this is good for you is it? What's more, this fear, assuming that you carry it within, is acting on you even when you are not consciously focused on it. Its presence betrays itself, shall we say, in automatic thoughts and behaviors that you experience throughout your day. If you reflect say on how you feel at the end of your day you may notice how negative thoughts and behaviors that relate to such a fear may have kept in and taken control right under your very nose. Yet, most physicians "think" that the fear of failure (here represented as the fear of losing one's license) is supposed to keep us sharp, focused, attentive, making good decisions, performing at our best and hence is supposed to improve the quality of our lives and work. So you see the actual experience of these feelings is detrimental not helpful. If you are with me so far and recognize this irony and would like to do something about it then you may wish to visit the web link below where you can download a free audio clip on this issue that will change, and possibly save your life. |
