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Puneet Bhargava: If you are MID-CAREER this tweet is for you

Photo of Puneet Bhargava from uwmedicine.org

Dec 5, 2023, 12:33

Puneet Bhargava: If you are MID-CAREER this tweet is for you

Vinay Prasad, Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco, shared a post by Puneet Bhargava, Professor of Radiology and an Editor at Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology Journal, on X/Twitter, adding:

”In my opinion this post RSNA23 tacitly accepts a delusion widespread in medicine and science. Almost no individual matters. Delete two dozen of the biggest “winners” and the ‘great’ discovery would have been made by others, months later. A doctor only touches their points and family/ friends. I would advise people to only do things they enjoy from day 1. 99.999999% of ‘careers’ r pointless.”

Quoting Puneet Bhargava’s post:

”If you are MID-CAREER this tweet is for you RSNA23. “Winners do quit, and quitters do win.” When you were young, you “won” – awards, promotions etc. Your initial years were exciting and fun. The bar was low (did not seem like it back then, but it was) and you built career momentum.

As the years went on, you wanted to be true to your values, prioritize life – things became harder and less fun, until you hit a low point aka THE DIP, see image. According to Seth Godin, the real superstars, you know the “consistent” types, that stay focused and motivated when it really matters are able to push through.

The others fade into oblivion, avoid that! The REAL winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the goal, the bigger effort and the reward for getting past it. I have no answers but here are a few things to consider:

It’s OK to step off the treadmill for a while. Provided you come back.
Stay committed to your goals.
It doesn’t matter that others are outpacing you. Later in life you are running your own race and chasing your own reward.
Are you pursuing success at the cost of burnout or are you pacing yourself for sustainable growth for a decade or more?
Will you end your career in radiology with any regrets for lack of effort? You don’t control the results to a certain extent.

These are many years of joyful life after radiology pursuing your interests and hobbies. Spend the last third of your career building these, esp if these pursuits fell by the wayside in the fast paced radiology lives we live in the early years…”

Puneet Bhargava: If you are MID-CAREER this tweet is for you