Running the Pre-med Marathon

The mileage counter on the treadmill inches closer to 2.00 as I chant quietly to myself, “Don’t give up, you’re not a quitter.” Instead of focusing on the calorie counter or the clock, I think about how I feel both physically and mentally. Slightly out of breath with sweat accumulating on my forehead, I am acutely aware of how, mentally, I am not ready to quit. I grit my teeth before turning up the trap music streaming through my headphones and switch the speed dial up to nine miles per hour.

I used to consider myself a “slightly above-average” individual. I did just enough but never pushed myself to put in the work to achieve extraordinary. Afterwards, I would always wish I had put in the work to be more than just ordinary, but at the time I would succumb to mediocrity and quit before I really pushed my limits. I was never as productive as I could be. I could waste time just sitting and staring off into space. My favorite pastime was worrying about the future instead of working toward it.

My entire outlook on willpower and productivity changed when I read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I always thought that in order to be a better me, I had to change everything wrong all at once. Every January, I would make a long list of problems I wanted to fix and every December I would sigh in defeat because not a single goal got accomplished. The Power of Habit taught me that habits are broken by making small changes and then using a cue to reinforce the new habit. Being more productive requires little changes carried out over a consistent period of time. Pushing myself to exercise at least once a week was my little change, and the reminders from my exercise app were my cue.

I bought myself some cute workout clothes and comfortable sneakers to encourage myself to go to the gym and reached out to different people so that I had gym buddies to hold me accountable. I thought that it would be hard to settle into an exercise routine, but the more I put on my shoes to go running or workout at the school gym, the less forced I felt. I began to look forward to my workout because it was my time to reflect and destress. I enjoyed how my day always went better if I started it off with morning exercise. As I fell into a routine, I started to push myself harder. At first, I was content to just run a mile and do some stretches before calling it a day, but as I started to feel stronger, I started to push myself to see how long I could run or how many reps I could do. I began to surprise myself. I went from not being able to do a proper push-up to doing ten push-ups without stopping. I could run three miles in under twenty-five minutes when I previously would give out after a ten-minute mile.

This newfound willpower has helped me immensely through my pre-medical journey. The road to becoming a doctor is a grueling one full of potholes and hills. In order to get through the years of schooling and the decades of hectic schedules and long nights, having a strong willpower and determination are a must. Exercising more often gave me more energy and increased my resolve to study longer and harder. I get so much more done each day. The pursuit of medicine is a marathon, not a sprint – one that will require perseverance and an unyielding attitude. I know that there are many milestones I have yet to hit –the MCAT, the application process, and Step I to name a few – but the beauty in running a marathon is not in finishing it but in the moments throughout the journey. As I push myself harder in my exercise regimen, I concurrently push myself harder in my pursuit of medicine. Instead of half-heartedly trudging my way through challenges, I now seek them out with joy. I think back to how I used to dread taking the MCAT exam instead of seeing it as a way to test my knowledge and show the world and myself that I am capable. When my mindset changed, studying got a lot easier. I study harder and retain more information because I push myself past my previous limits. From exercising, I know that my body claims exhaustion way before it is actually tired, and if I push past the deceiving feelings of exhaustion, I can find the strength to continue.

Socrates once said, “It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” Pushing myself to my limits is the only way I can truly know what I am capable of, and like exercise, the rigor of preparing for medical school is a good way to do that. Exercise is to my body as studying medicine is to my mind. This year, my outlook on the journey to becoming a doctor has completely changed. I no longer see the journey as an arduous undertaking full of tears and social reclusion. I now see it as a way to test my limits and stretch my understanding to levels I never thought possible – a way to utilize every facet of my brain and willpower so that I can grow as a person. Now, whenever I want to give up or quit early, I remember the feeling of finishing and I crank up the intensity, turn up my music, and keep pushing.