Medicine selects broad and curious people, trains them to narrow, rewards them for mastering a domain - and eventually gives them the assets to become broad again.
Scott! I am glad I found this essay that you have written.
I am not a medical doctor yet..
I want to be a dentist 🦷 and I am in my second year in the university. The years where you are introduced fully to the complexities of anatomy, embryology and other dense medical subjects. I am not afraid particularly about this journey but I don't want to change who i am.
I want to keep writing on Substack.
I want to keep contacts with the little friends I am making.
I want to still read philosophy and psychology.
I have a chosen to major in maxillofacial surgery .. but I don't want to be known to the world as only that.
Scott, I really appreciated this reflection. The idea that the first half of a career often requires narrowing, while mid-career invites re-expansion, feels true far beyond medicine. Many of us spend years becoming useful, capable, and specialized, then eventually realize there are older parts of ourselves asking to return: curiosity, creativity, play, learning for its own sake. That re-expansion feels less like starting over and more like becoming whole again.
Thanks! I'm glad this resonated with you. I agree that this can be extrapolated beyond medicine. Once we're at the mid-point of our career arc, we can re-introduce curiosity and build new professional chapters, starting from a place where we're more equipped with experience, knowledge, and resources.
Scott, I love that phrase: “re-introduce curiosity from a stronger foundation.” That feels exactly right. Maybe mid-career is not about returning to who we were, but bringing back the parts of ourselves that still have something to teach us.
Scott! I am glad I found this essay that you have written.
I am not a medical doctor yet..
I want to be a dentist 🦷 and I am in my second year in the university. The years where you are introduced fully to the complexities of anatomy, embryology and other dense medical subjects. I am not afraid particularly about this journey but I don't want to change who i am.
I want to keep writing on Substack.
I want to keep contacts with the little friends I am making.
I want to still read philosophy and psychology.
I have a chosen to major in maxillofacial surgery .. but I don't want to be known to the world as only that.
God help me haha .
Appreciate the interest!
Holding onto and exploring those interests early can result in a very interesting career down the line. Keep writing and keep exploring!
Scott, I really appreciated this reflection. The idea that the first half of a career often requires narrowing, while mid-career invites re-expansion, feels true far beyond medicine. Many of us spend years becoming useful, capable, and specialized, then eventually realize there are older parts of ourselves asking to return: curiosity, creativity, play, learning for its own sake. That re-expansion feels less like starting over and more like becoming whole again.
Thanks! I'm glad this resonated with you. I agree that this can be extrapolated beyond medicine. Once we're at the mid-point of our career arc, we can re-introduce curiosity and build new professional chapters, starting from a place where we're more equipped with experience, knowledge, and resources.
Scott, I love that phrase: “re-introduce curiosity from a stronger foundation.” That feels exactly right. Maybe mid-career is not about returning to who we were, but bringing back the parts of ourselves that still have something to teach us.
Thanks Dr. Cort! Curiosity drives us to learn more, and explore what interests us in life.
Thanks Howell!