Charting A Path
More camper van learnings…
For those that have missed a few of my recent blogs, I rented a camper van and traveled from New Hampshire to New Mexico and back during the month of June. I had my travel companion and protector, Snickerdoodle (my 7-year-old rescue dog) with me.
Being a type A, over-achiever, I had my route to New Mexico and back all planned out. It took a lot of resistance to not have every single night at a campsite reserved, but I managed to leave a little flexibility in that part of the plan. Despite the best laid out day-by-day plans, things got interesting quite quickly and I had to make adjustments throughout the trip. This required patience, lots of deep breathing and resilience.
Day 1 – I left Sunapee, NH and approximately 1.5 hours into the trip the van starts shaking violently and I realize I have a flat tire! Detour #1 (bummer!)
Weekend 1 – My daughter flew to Nashville to meet me for the weekend. We planned to stay in a campground on Friday night and a hotel on Saturday night. Unbeknownst to either of us, it was CMA Festival and Nashville was busy! So instead of driving the ½ hour to the campground, I was able to reserve the same hotel for both nights. Detour #2 (great decision!)
Weekend 2 – The poison ivy that I got from the side of the road on the first day (related to the flat tire) was in full swing the second week. I SERIOUSLY considered coming home – turning the van around and bailing on the trip. I’d gotten to my destination, New Mexico but I was in pretty bad condition mentally and physically.
One other major detour was making the decision to skip the last approximately 4 days of the trip to come home early. I had planned to see The Ozarks area of Missouri on my trek home, but by that part of the trip I was happy with what I’d accomplished on the trip and ready to return home.
Why am I telling you all of this?
These detours required significant mindset shifts
~Flexibility
~Patience
~Vulnerability
~Trust (of self)
Ultimately, I did not follow the exact path I laid out before hitting the road. Just like most goals, achieving them is not a straight path. Instead, it is a squiggly line of forward progress and setbacks as well.
Throughout my trip, I thought of the analogy of my physician clients making their transitions to biotech/pharma. The path may be planned out AND there are likely to be detours requiring flexibility, patience, vulnerability and trust (of self).
~Flexibility throughout the process of learning about pharmaceutical jobs for physicians to the interview process that is quite different from their clinical experience
~Patience – many job applications are required and some may go completely un-answered
~Vulnerability – asking for help via networking IS required
~Trust (of self) – gaining confidence in the training and skills you bring to the role is critical. So many physicians under-estimate their ability to contribute to jobs in pharma/biotech.
My trip was full of amazing sites, learnings and exploring new places AND it was fraught with detours that required me to adjust. This is life – whether trips or new career transitions. Getting upset or irritated about any of these detours is not effective or efficient. Focusing on the goal and plodding forward is the best path even when squiggly!
Ready to make a career transition to pharma/biotech… want to explore a way to use your medical training and knowledge in a fulfilling way without nights and weekends call or charting. Watch this webinar on Getting Past the Three Major Hurdles to a Career in the Pharma Industry HERE.