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Fake It Till You Make It?
One of the most misunderstood pieces of advice in our culture is the phrase “fake it until you make it.”
At face value, it sounds dishonest. It sounds like pretending to be something you are not. It sounds like confidence without competence.
But after nearly three decades in medicine, I have come to believe there is a deeper truth hiding inside that phrase.
Most success in life is not built on pretending. It is built on being willing to step into situations where you are not yet fully prepared, knowing that growth happens only when you are slightly or deeply beyond your comfort zone.
If I am being honest, much of my professional life has felt this way, and the depth vacillated based on the context.
When I finished my pediatric residency at the University of Virginia, I was 29 years old and knew just enough to realize how much I did not know. Medical school and residency provide an enormous foundation, but they also expose you to the staggering volume of knowledge that exists in the world. And that volume has only skyrocketed in the past 30 years.
The farther I traveled in medicine, the more I realized the horizon kept moving, often unattainable.
One experience from those early years remains crystal clear, almost like a scar from a wound.
I had been asked to give a lecture to the pediatric residents at UVA on electrolyte solutions and exercise physiology. I spent time preparing and thought I knew the material reasonably well. I walked into the room feeling confident.
Then the questions started….. and a literature review.
Enjoy,
Dr. M