Mindset: The Power of Reframing.

Recently I have had many post-interview discussions with clients and others who have spontaneously reached out to me on LinkedIn.? Common current concerns revolve around trying to understand why things did not go differently this application season.? Many of your inner voices have been very busy.?

Your questions often involve comparisons with other applicants who were more fortunate in the numbers of interviews they received or the programs where they interviewed.? Some of you are wondering why a close friend received a pre-match offer while you did not.? Others are rewinding their mental interview tapes from the past few months, reflecting on what they perceived as “less than perfect” answers they provided to a given question.? Some are convinced that their interview with the PD was truncated to only ten minutes because they were not a top-notch candidate.? And the list goes on and on.?? ?I’m sure that many of you could easily add to this list.

When I coach applicants with mock interviews, I spend considerable time discussing the power of storytelling.? We work together to identify rich personal stories authentic to the applicant, and then craft them into positive, powerfully impactful statements.

The stories that I am hearing now are quite the opposite. Applicants are creating varied stories – often quite negative - to explain the circumstances in which they find themselves. Such is a natural process as our brains are always looking for reasons to explain why things turned out a certain way.? As physicians, most of us have well-developed pragmatic skills and our brain is simply problem-solving -- filling in the blanks as to why something happened (or did not) as we had hoped. Our brains are very adept at this “thought” work and applicant’s inner voices seem to be particularly active at this time of year.?

What is common to many of these “stories” or “thoughts”?

• They are very often not rooted in actual facts.
• They are replete with many assumptions.?
• They are often self-deprecating.?
• They are distinctly un-empowering.

?These stories and thoughts which characterize our mindset are generally not helpful in the short-term.? And, in the long-term, can really become quite harmful. ??There is a quote, attributed to Buddha, which I find particularly relevant which says:? We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think”. ??So, the concept of mindset with its’ consequences is not some novel 21th century idea, but one which has been around for a very long time.? ??

?What if I told you that you can reject these thoughts and even change them?? That it is in your power to renegotiate what you choose to believe at this particular moment?? Trust me for a second when I say that this is not some sort of hocus-pocus or attempt at deception.? ?I’ve seen it work over and over again to help clients jettison self-disparaging thoughts and substitute empowering ones.

?Here’s how this works – how reframing (changing our thoughts/perceptions) can provide a new vision.? I’ve given two examples with two separate clients.? In each case, the circumstance is static, but reframing gives the current un-empowering thought a less toxic voice and, quite likely, a more empowering one.

Note how your thoughts create your subsequent emotions, not the actual circumstance itself.? Understanding this is critical and frankly can actually be quite mind-blowing.? And recognizing this is where the true magic begins.?

You start by simply observing your thoughts, without judgement.? You can then ask yourself how these thoughts are serving you?? If you don’t feel they are serving you in a positive fashion – i.e. they are leading to negative emotions and unproductive actions, it’s in your power to consider a reframe.? I encourage each of you to try.

My hope is that this discussion, while likely something different than you expected, will help you to reframe inner thoughts at this time in the match cycle and emerge with a greater sense of acceptance, empowerment, and even control. ??

?Let me know how it goes.? ???

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