Periodic rough patches are normal in any career, but in the life-or-death world of medicine, they can be especially difficult. Sometimes the best way to move through a difficult period is to seek outside perspective and context. These five books provide both. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Useful for: Learning to master your emotions Meditations is the private journal of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who was the last emperor during the Pax Romana, ruling from 161-180 A.D. Aurelius was no stranger to hardship during his reign, having witnessed war and rebellion, and dealt with his own deteriorating health. Meditations illustrates how Aurelius used Stoic philosophy to inform his decision-making and restrain his emotions. You could almost see this compact volume as an instruction manual for dealing with the emotional anguish and frustration that sometimes accompany the medical profession. You can’t control the curveballs patients and your superiors will throw at you, but you can learn to control how you feel about them and how you respond to them. 10% Happier by Dan Harris Useful for: Learning mindfulness Dan Harris is a television journalist who stumbled into the world of mindfulness and meditation after having a highly publicized on-air anxiety attack. 10% Happier almost serves as a skeptic’s guide to mediation. Harris turned to mindfulness work after other attempts to control his anxiety symptoms failed. The book demystifies meditation, making it more accessible. 10% Happier is useful for any doctor looking to better manage their stress and anxiety by developing a mindfulness process. It maps out how you can become a meditator with minimal time, effort, and weirdness. Essentialism by Greg McKeown Useful for: Learning to manage your time more effectively Essentialism opens in the aftermath of the birth of McKeown’s child. He finds himself torn between going to a meeting deemed important by his superior, or staying with his wife and newborn. No spoilers: You’ll have to pick up the book to find out what he decides. What follows is an exploration of how our failure to set priorities in life often leads to discontent. McKeown goes on to lay out a system for determining what is essential and what isn’t. Often in medicine, it’s crystal clear what is essential and what isn’t. Sometimes it’s as black and white as life or death. Doctors thrive with this level of clarity and specificity. It’s what they trained for. It’s all of the other tasks, social demands, and seemingly important minutiae that exacerbate an already tense and challenging career. Essentialism will give you a blueprint for managing these things. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl Useful for: Finding meaning in your struggle Man’s Search for Meaning is equal parts an account from inside a Nazi concentration camp, and an exploration of Frankl’s groundbreaking Logotherapy. In this compact book, Frankl lays out how our ability to determine the meaning of tragedy and trauma can help us move past it. It’s an awe-inspiring story of the ruggedness and power of the human spirit and intellect. This is an essential read for any doctor going through a difficult period in their career. Man’s Search for Meaning will show you how you can detach yourself from what’s happening to you and determine how it will make you more resilient as a human being. The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin Useful for: Improving your ability to learn You might remember Josh Waitzkin as the inspiration for the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer. Josh is a chess and martial arts champion who has developed a principle-based approach to learning that can be used to master seemingly unrelated disciplines. In The Art of Learning, Waitzkin explains how you can use his principles and apply them to your learning process. In the ever-evolving field of medicine, it can often feel like a struggle to keep up with the latest advances. The Art of Learning will show a systematic approach to internalizing new concepts or skills as well as rekindle your love of learning. TL;DR Getting frustrated with medicine? Take a read through one of these books to give yourself a boost. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius 10% Happier by Dan Harris Essentialism by Greg McKeown Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin Source
