Dooley Noted: 5/1/2014
I rarely make the opportunity to open an anatomy atlas and study whatever page upon which I stumble.
On my visiting professorship, I had this opportunity every day for two weeks.
As I leafed through its many pages, I felt the enormous comfort of seven dedicated years of anatomic study.
An anatomy atlas feels like home to me.
But it wasn’t always like this, with me finding such blissful comfort in the atlas pages.
I used to fall asleep with Gray’s Anatomy in my lap, pleading, “How in the world am I ever going to learn all of this?”
That attitude was too defeatist to be proactive. So I started somewhere.
I picked one region, and I learned it backwards and forwards.
I tested myself by testing others, leaving myself prone to not knowing the answers.
It’s okay not to know. You learn to not know and earn learning through failure.
Failure is imminent and absolutely acceptable. Stopping after failure is the easy way out.
It’s easy and defeatist to become overwhelmed. Instead of drowning, welcome the challenges as opportunities to learn something.
To alleviate the difficulty perceived in struggle, you just start somewhere.
Want to learn the neck? Start with one triangle.
Want to learn the periodic table? Start with one column.
Want a one-armed push up? Start by perfecting the two armed push-up.
Want to run 26.2 miles with a healthy system? Start with a one mile run without systemic compromise.
Few people are testing your integration. It’s up to you to regress and then progress at your own volition.
Just pick a spot in life and hold yourself accountable to learning it. Starting somewhere is all it takes.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley