Gawande

I have been enjoying a book teaching us to make fun of reading and how to enjoy writing. The author didn't say a lot about writing skills. Rather, it's the trick for staying in our writing chairs that really impresses me.

One of the most pleasant lessons was drawn from the perspective of Atul Gawande, an award-winning doctor-writer. The author quoted Gawande, "To be sure, talent helps… Nonetheless, attending surgeons say that what is most important to them is finding people who are conscientious, industrious, and boneheaded enough to keep at practicing this one difficult thing day and night for years on end."

"Skill, surgeons believe, can be taught," says Gawande. "Tenacity cannot… And it works."

And that makes me absolutely impressed.

As every one of us knows very well, it's hard to be mediocre, dogged, and to practice, day after day. During my childhood, I kept writing diary and I wrote plenty. Hmm, I then graduated, got a job, didn’t think a lot about the diary. Not a single page of diary thereafter. Never.

The wonderful lesson from Atul Gawande reminds me of my mentor’s willingness to keep practicing the same thing day after day. By the way, he is élite instead of mediocre, but it's rather beside the point. And, he does it anyway. He keeps blog writing, not to mention seeing his patients, days after days, years after years. This sounds flattering. I know. Bear with me. It's a tale I wish didn't need telling. I have lost count of the number of times I have been late for my clinics and rounds. I rush to the clinics late, time after time, and feel humbled and ashamed of myself whenever I find my mentor already there.

That's humbling, isn't it?

You decide.