- 📝 Doctor Kenji's Notes
- Posts
- 💪🏽 The Power of Showing Up
Hey guys! 👋 Hope you've all had a fantastic week.
It’s been a hectic few weeks for me since getting back from my annual leave in Kenya. I’ve had a bunch of final on-calls and night shifts that I had to get through before finishing up my psychiatry rotation. I’ll be moving onto obstetrics and gynaecology next week, after a long and great 8 months in psychiatry 🙂 This busy period was probably the hardest working period that I’ve ever had and it was extremely difficult to balance other aspects of my life, such as going to the gym. What kept me on track wasn’t getting to the gym and lifting as heavy as I possibly could (as I usually would), but it was actually just showing up and doing whatever I could in whatever capacity that was. During the past weeks, I only managed to get to the gym 2-3 times and worked out for about 30-35 minutes, compared to my usual schedule of 1-hour sessions 4 times a week. After I finished my last session that week, it occurred to me that “some days are for getting better and some days are to prevent losing what you’ve built”. So although I know for certain that it was unlikely that I built any muscle during these sessions, I felt at peace and reassured that at the very least, I wouldn’t be losing the 10 years+ of progress where I’ve spent consistently showing up to the gym and doing my absolute best. And I truly believe that it is in those defining moments where you just show up that prevent you from losing progress and maintaining the habit that truly define your success in life with whatever you want to succeed in.
So if you ever find yourself too busy or tired to do something, just show up, do what you can and pat yourself on the back for maintaining what you told yourself you would do. It’s in those moments where nobody is watching, where your character is most built.
Have a fantastic week!
Kenji.
👍🏾 Things I’ve enjoyed this week
Habit (app) - I’ve tried habit trackers in the past but this has been the easiest to use. So much so that I’ve consistently been logging new habits that I’ve wanted to build over the last month!
This is Us (series) - This drama about the life of a loving family had my partner and I crying after every episode. Definitely the best series I’ve seen all year!
Grind and brew coffee machine (tech) - bought this on black Friday and changed my life! I’m now able to have my coffee automatically ready for me at an exact time in the morning, and the taste of its coffee is much better than a normal cafetiere in my opinion.
Anker 200w charger (tech) - funny story - I found this on a plane as I was leaving (a passenger must have forgotten it) and it also has changed my life. I’m now able to charge pretty much any device, including my 15 inch Macbook Pro, wherever I go! Game-changer
📹 The latest video in case you missed it:
📚 Highlight of the week
What small step can you take today that will put you on the path toward something wonderful?
You Aren't What You Do (Even if You Do What You Love) - Every Simone Stolzoff
To tether your self-worth to a job is to put your fate in the hands of an entity that won’t always be able to love you back. But when you see your work as one aspect among many that make up who you are, you’re able to see your job for what it is: a living, not the entirety of your life.
How to Become Rich
I am grateful that I experienced what I experienced. My father's father was worse to him, and beat him. My father's father's father was probably even worse - but it ends here. Because I experienced so much pain, I now have made it my mission to be the absolute best Dad that I can be in the future. This is the main reason I do everything, to be at every ball game, every dance recital for my future kids with my future wife. To show them so much love and safety that it breaks the generational cycles that came all the way down to me. To be such an amazing Dad that my grandkids and THEIR kids are impacted by how I raised my family, three generations later.
Resurfaced to me by Readwise
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Want to learn more from me? Check these out👇
🩺 (Free) How to Get into Medical School - From Application to Doctor: https://skl.sh/2TwpH0N
👨🏼💻 An Essay Writing Masterclass - The Best Essay Writing Technique: https://courses.kenjitomita.co.uk
🏥 My Online Medicine Interview Course: https://courses.kenjitomita.co.uk
📑 Study notes, my university personal statements, dissertation and more:https://www.kenjitomita.co.uk/shop
🛠 My favourite tools 🔨
📚 Listen to my favourite book of all time (or any other) free on Audible
🥼 My daily hospital scrubs: HappyThreads
🎒 My everyday and travel bag from Menos (use KENJI10 for 10% off)
📝 My favourite iPad screen protector: Paperlike