Eating elephants

   The answer to the tongue-in-cheek question, “how do you eat an elephant” is- “one bite at a time.” This begs the question of just why one would want to eat an elephant in the first place but in making a point, I think one came take some license with analogies.

The premise behind this question is that large jobs, tasks, projects, etc. are best approached by breaking them down into smaller, manageable parts. While perhaps not universally applicable, it does come close. I couldn’t think of a situation in which this advice might not apply  in some way.

My daughter, Olivia, is a second year medical student at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, my alma mater. She is an achiever. Notice I didn’t say “over” achiever, as this implies that there is something wrong with not just trying to do your best, but doing things well. This week and weekend, she is facing a major examination on the current academic block, which is renal (kidney) physiology and clinical renal medicine. Renal is one of the most complicated areas of study in medical school and I have always held nephrologists (kidney specialists) in high regard. She is facing the daunting task of reviewing  hours and hours of videotaped lectures as well as voluminous notes, each page of which is full of formulas, equations, and related information. I remember renal well from my days in med school. It is overwhelming. She is worried because of the sheer volume of material and its complexity since she wants to not just pass this section but do well.

 

 What advice would I give to her, since, supposedly, I am older and wiser and have been through this before? I would say don’t focus on the elephant, i.e. the entire body of information you are responsible for learning. Instead, break it down into manageable packets. Go through each page, one by one, and each lecture, the same way. Emphasize understanding over pure recall. If you understand the material, recall will be much easier. Trust what you have learned up to this point. Budget your time and your energy. Every student has the same amount of material to study and the same time frame in which to do that. No one can ask you to do more than your best effort. 

 

  

One of Olivia’s problems is that she has always looked around at her classmates in high school and college with confidence that she could rise to the top of any class with enough effort and determination. In medical school, however, your classmates are the “cream of the crop” from universities all over the country and only a few can be at the top. It is a paradigm shift in thinking for most students. It certainly was for me.

I want to tell her, “you will do fine”. I truly believe that. Her entire academic career up to now has been one of always doing well, indeed, very well. But, as I say that, I am convicted by my own words. This ironman thing is kicking my butt, physically yes, but especially mentally. Despite my training and preparation and the assurances of my coach, I am having a great deal of trouble coming to grips with the idea that I will do “fine”. “Fine”, by the way, to me simply means finishing. Forget time goals, qualifying for Kona, age group podium finishes, and the like. I just want to get done before the cutoff of 17 hours. That will be victory and anything better will be icing on the cake. Like Olivia, I can’t seem to stop looking around me and thinking that all these other participants are younger, stronger, and faster than me, and they have probably trained harder. I really wonder how I will stack up against my peers and, truth be told, against those who are older than me. I keep looking at the whole elephant rather than breaking it into smaller pieces.
  

 As I look back I can see a number of milestones that I have achieved and surpassed over the past 11 months: first 4000+ yard swim, first solo century on the bike at 16+ mph, running 15+ miles at 9:28 min/mi. I can see the changes in my body. All good stuff and objective signs of progress.

I guess if Olivia is going to believe anything I say, I need to have the courage of my convictions, so…..Olivia, we are going to be fine.