How to overcome the annual meeting blues

1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,860 Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast, where academic clinicians learn the skills 2 00:00:05,860 --> 00:00:11,260 to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor. 3 00:00:11,260 --> 00:00:17,340 As clinicians, we spend a decade or more as trainees learning to take care of patients. 4 00:00:17,340 --> 00:00:22,380 When we finally start our careers, we want to build research programs, but then we find 5 00:00:22,380 --> 00:00:27,780 that our years of clinical training did not adequately prepare us to lead our research 6 00:00:27,780 --> 00:00:29,200 program. 7 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:35,480 Through no fault of our own, we struggle to find mentors, and when we can't, we quit. 8 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:40,580 However, clinicians hold the keys to the greatest research breakthroughs. 9 00:00:40,580 --> 00:00:46,200 For this reason, the Clinician Researcher podcast exists to give academic clinicians 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:51,800 the tools to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor. 11 00:00:51,800 --> 00:01:01,060 Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene. 12 00:01:01,060 --> 00:01:03,320 Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast. 13 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:07,800 I'm your host, Toyosi Onwuemene, and it is always a pleasure to be speaking with you. 14 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:08,800 Thank you for tuning in. 15 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:14,620 I am excited to be bringing you this episode live from the American Society of Hematology 16 00:01:14,620 --> 00:01:21,520 Animal Meeting, which is so pertinent to today's episode, the title of which is, How to Overcome 17 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:24,240 the Animal Meeting Blues. 18 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:29,120 You know the Animal Meeting Blues, if you've never had them, they're coming to you eventually. 19 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,640 Maybe, and maybe not. 20 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:36,040 Maybe this will be the intervention that prevents you from ever having Animal Meeting Blues. 21 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,560 But yes, I'm excited to talk to you about it. 22 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:40,560 But what are the Animal Meeting Blues? 23 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:48,160 Well, the Animal Meeting Blues are the experience you have when you go through the program handbook, 24 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,520 or it's online now, so it's the app. 25 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,600 You look and see all the people you graduated with. 26 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:58,920 You either went to med school together or you went to residency together. 27 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:02,520 And it seems as if every other page you turn, it's their name on there. 28 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,160 And it's like, oh, wow, look, this person is presenting this. 29 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:07,800 And wow, they have this plenary abstract session. 30 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:09,520 And oh my goodness, they're doing all this other stuff. 31 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:15,200 And what am I doing? 32 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:21,240 And you compare yourself to them and you feel like, wow, I'm really, oh, wow, I don't want 33 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:22,600 to say bad things about myself. 34 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:27,160 But you know, you don't think well of yourself because you're like, wow, what am I doing? 35 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,880 Well, all my colleagues are just killing it. 36 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:32,200 They're doing so awesome. 37 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:34,600 They're presenting all these abstracts. 38 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:38,040 They're doing all these sessions and I'm doing nothing. 39 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,160 Yes, that's what the Animal Meeting Blues are about. 40 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:45,880 And you finally go, you sit and you think about your life and you're like, hmm, am I 41 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,120 even worthy of being here? 42 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,280 Like should I quit now? 43 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:55,080 Oh my goodness. 44 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:56,080 So yeah, that was me. 45 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:00,120 A couple of actually maybe about an hour and a half ago where I was sitting and saying, 46 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:01,880 why am I at this meeting? 47 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:03,600 Look at this person and look at that person. 48 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:05,540 Look at this person. 49 00:03:05,540 --> 00:03:09,560 And so this episode is more for me really than it is for you. 50 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:15,200 But I hope that maybe this says something to you and that you can use it as well. 51 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,800 So how do you overcome the Animal Meeting Blues? 52 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:25,080 Okay, so the first thing is to take a deep breath and remember that it is all an illusion. 53 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,880 It is all an illusion. 54 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:32,000 And the reason I call it an illusion is because if you think back to seven days before the 55 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,620 meeting, you were doing just fine. 56 00:03:34,620 --> 00:03:36,480 You're excited to be going to the meeting. 57 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:37,960 You're going to meet friends. 58 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,600 You're excited to maybe present your one poster abstract. 59 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:42,520 Maybe you had no poster or maybe you had nothing. 60 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:43,600 It doesn't matter. 61 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:45,520 You were excited about being at the meeting. 62 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:51,360 It's the reason you paid a lot of money to get a flight that would bring you to the Animal 63 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:52,400 Meeting location. 64 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:56,160 You paid a lot of money for the hotel, not because you were forced to, but because you 65 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:57,300 chose to. 66 00:03:57,300 --> 00:03:59,760 It was a choice you made and you were happy when you made this choice. 67 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:04,360 I know because no one's forcing you to be here or no one's forcing you to go to the 68 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:05,360 meeting. 69 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,280 But you were excited before you got to the Animal Meeting. 70 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:14,360 And so getting to the Animal Meeting and having anything that now causes you to rethink your 71 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:19,280 life or causes you to think, am I supposed to be here, is an illusion. 72 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:25,400 It's because in one program, maybe someone feels overrepresented to you because you're 73 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:30,120 paying attention to their name and you're noticing that their name is overrepresented 74 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:31,760 to you in the book. 75 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:37,320 Or you're noticing that relative to what you're doing, some people are doing so much more. 76 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,200 And here's the thing, it will always be the case. 77 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:41,200 Always be the case. 78 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:42,960 There will always be someone doing more than you. 79 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:46,040 And what you're not paying attention to is all the people who are doing less than you. 80 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:48,200 So here you are at the meeting this year. 81 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,080 Maybe you're presenting a poster, but there are a lot of people who are not at the meeting 82 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:53,000 presenting anything this year. 83 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,520 And many of them are here, but some of them are not here. 84 00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:04,680 And so it's all an illusion, this kind of experience that you're having of people doing 85 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:08,680 so much more than you is only coming into your purview because you're looking through 86 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:10,600 the annual program booklet. 87 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:15,280 And so all of a sudden, you're assessing your career on the basis of who's presenting at 88 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:19,120 your annual meeting or not presenting at your annual meeting, but you're mostly focused 89 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,460 on the people who are and the fact that you are not presenting. 90 00:05:22,460 --> 00:05:23,680 It's all an illusion. 91 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:24,720 It's not real. 92 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:28,360 If you didn't show up to the meeting, you wouldn't feel so bad. 93 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:32,440 And so the fact that you're feeling bad now is a sign that you know what? 94 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:33,840 It's not real. 95 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:34,960 It's not real. 96 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:36,840 It's not a judgment on your career. 97 00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:39,760 It's not a judgment on the work that you've done so far. 98 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,400 You are an awesome clinician, researcher. 99 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:44,680 You're awesome, whatever you do. 100 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:46,680 And it is not a judgment on you. 101 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:48,080 It's just an illusion. 102 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:55,080 So take a deep breath and let the breath out and recognize that, you know what? 103 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,800 In a couple of days, this will all pass. 104 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,760 Okay. 105 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:03,560 Number two. 106 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:08,600 Number two is to recognize that comparing yourself with anyone else is always a losing 107 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:09,640 game. 108 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:11,680 You can never win. 109 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:16,720 Doesn't matter whether you're at the annual meeting, whether it's at a smaller meeting, 110 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:20,920 whether it's at your institution, or you're just looking through the journal articles 111 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,040 that have been publishing your favorite journal for this week. 112 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:28,360 Every time you compare yourself with someone else, you lose. 113 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:33,880 You always lose because, you know, actually both scenarios, to be honest to me, are worst 114 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:34,960 case scenarios. 115 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:38,920 So the best case scenario, let's look at it as a best case scenario, is that you're the 116 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:40,000 one who's killing it. 117 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:41,920 You're the one who's on the front page. 118 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:44,920 You're the one who's presenting all the abstracts. 119 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:49,840 Best case scenario, you're that person who's doing everything. 120 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:53,000 And then you look around and you're like, well, this other person is not doing as well 121 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:54,760 and that other person is not doing as well. 122 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:59,120 And then you start to feel like you're all that, like you're superior. 123 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:00,360 And it's a lie. 124 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:04,960 You happen to be able to present a couple more abstracts this year compared to everyone 125 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:05,960 else. 126 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:07,640 Doesn't make you superior to other people. 127 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:11,160 It just means, wow, you had opportunity this year. 128 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:12,960 That may not come again next year. 129 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:16,360 So to be honest, that best case scenario is kind of like a worst case scenario because 130 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:20,420 it now causes you to start looking down on people and that's not okay. 131 00:07:20,420 --> 00:07:23,200 Because in science, there's no superiority. 132 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,760 There's just everybody contributing to move things forward and different people having 133 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,680 different opportunities to move work forward. 134 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:34,400 And so any scenario that allows you to think that you're bigger than or more important 135 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:36,520 than other people is not good. 136 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:41,200 Not good for you, clearly not good for others, but mostly not good for you. 137 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:44,480 And the worst case scenario is kind of like the thing that triggers the animal meeting 138 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:45,480 blues. 139 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,680 The thing when you look at it and you're like, my gosh, what is wrong with me? 140 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:49,680 What's wrong with my life? 141 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:51,480 I'm accomplishing nothing. 142 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:52,480 And it's false. 143 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:54,300 It's false because you know what? 144 00:07:54,300 --> 00:07:55,300 You're doing good work. 145 00:07:55,300 --> 00:07:56,600 You're doing good science. 146 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:01,520 So you didn't have anything to present this year or not that many things to present. 147 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,680 But you know, so when you start looking at other people and you're like, well, they 148 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:06,060 must be better than me. 149 00:08:06,060 --> 00:08:07,060 It's a lie. 150 00:08:07,060 --> 00:08:09,280 And now you feel inferior to them. 151 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:13,000 You feel like your work is worthless, but it's not true. 152 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:14,660 All of our work matters. 153 00:08:14,660 --> 00:08:17,680 All of our work is important, but I'm not really here to talk about everybody. 154 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:18,760 I'm just here to talk about you. 155 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:19,960 Your work matters. 156 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:22,640 It matters before it mattered before you got on the plane. 157 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:25,460 And how is it that you got off the plane and now it doesn't matter because everybody else 158 00:08:25,460 --> 00:08:27,380 is doing more than you? 159 00:08:27,380 --> 00:08:29,720 It is no good. 160 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:32,960 Comparing yourself to other people is a losing strategy. 161 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:39,000 Please, I want to beg you for the love of God, for the love of all things that are good. 162 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:40,840 Stop doing that. 163 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,680 I know other people will ask you to, other people will compare you. 164 00:08:44,680 --> 00:08:50,060 You will invariably have a mentor who will show up and say, wow, this other person is 165 00:08:50,060 --> 00:08:53,880 listed seven times and I don't even see your name. 166 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:55,520 What's going on with you? 167 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,280 Because human beings are human beings. 168 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:01,400 And sometimes we think that we can motivate people by comparing them to their best friends 169 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:02,920 or comparing them to other people. 170 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,600 And to be honest, it doesn't really work. 171 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:07,600 And they don't know that. 172 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:13,160 They still use those strategies to try to maybe convince you to do things differently 173 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:17,920 because they've been trying to tell you for a long time, it doesn't matter. 174 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:23,380 And I will take a step back and say, it's hard not to get caught up in the comparisons, 175 00:09:23,380 --> 00:09:29,260 but it's so important for your health, for your sanity, for your peace of mind that you 176 00:09:29,260 --> 00:09:32,280 come out of the boat of comparing yourself to other people. 177 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:33,840 It is a losing strategy. 178 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:35,480 It's a losing battle. 179 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:42,120 It doesn't help you because your goal, and this is where I quote a book, The Gap and 180 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:47,720 the Gain, which actually invariably I haven't read yet, it's by Dr. Benjamin Hardy and Ron 181 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:49,640 Sullivan. 182 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:54,400 But they explain the concept in another book that I have, 10x is easier than 2x. 183 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:59,040 And they talk about how if you're comparing yourself to an ideal, you're always going 184 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:00,040 to fall short. 185 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,440 But if you're comparing yourself to where you used to be, then you're always going to 186 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,320 see that you've really, really made a big leap. 187 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:10,100 And so it's important for you to start comparing yourself to other people who for whatever 188 00:10:10,100 --> 00:10:13,960 reason you've made them your ideal and start comparing yourself to you. 189 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:15,560 How far have you come? 190 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:19,600 When you acknowledge all your successes and you acknowledge how far you've come, then 191 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:22,480 you're really able to celebrate, which is what you should do. 192 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:25,440 You see other people's work being presented, you celebrate. 193 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:29,440 You see other people not have their work presented, you celebrate because you're not celebrating 194 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:30,600 them. 195 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:31,860 You're celebrating you. 196 00:10:31,860 --> 00:10:36,920 You're celebrating how far you've come and how far you've come is relevant, independent 197 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:38,960 of what everybody else is doing. 198 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:41,640 So comparing yourself with anyone else is a losing battle. 199 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:43,560 Please do not engage in it. 200 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:45,560 Okay, that's number two. 201 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:49,440 Number three is to reconnect with the value of your work. 202 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:50,600 Your work is valuable. 203 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:52,920 It was valuable before you got on the plane. 204 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,680 It will be valuable when you get back home. 205 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:58,000 Your work is always important. 206 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:03,920 And if you allow yourself to get on that bandwagon of comparison where you lose excitement about 207 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:09,000 your work, it's a problem because then you don't go back and take up your work with gusto 208 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,920 and you really do need to because your work matters. 209 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:16,440 You are the champion of your work and it's important for you to keep connected with the 210 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:17,640 value of your work. 211 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:23,600 No matter what it is in front of you, no matter how many people before you are being celebrated 212 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:24,600 for their work. 213 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:25,720 And you know what? 214 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:27,200 You should celebrate them. 215 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:31,920 You should celebrate them because it's awesome that they're having their work be presented 216 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:36,560 because the day is coming where you get to be the person who's celebrated too. 217 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:41,200 And you celebrate other people because your day will come to be celebrated too. 218 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:43,440 And so reconnect with the value of your work. 219 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:48,040 The value of your work matters no matter who else is presenting their work. 220 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:52,280 And the value of your work is made more valuable by the fact that other people are doing work 221 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:58,000 that moves science forward and that really creates a platform for your work. 222 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,240 Okay, so reconnect with the value of your work. 223 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:01,240 That's number three. 224 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:06,560 Number four is to recognize that you're playing the long game. 225 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:08,120 You are playing the long game. 226 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:13,840 Okay, so in one meeting you didn't have your work showcased as much, but you know what? 227 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:18,040 Another meeting is coming and then there'll be another meeting after that and God grant 228 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:21,240 you as many years as you want. 229 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:27,000 Another meeting will come, 20 meetings will come, 30 minutes meetings will come and different 230 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,440 people will be showcased at different rates. 231 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:32,400 You're playing the long game. 232 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:38,360 You do not allow one meeting to get you down to where you quit on yourself or you quit 233 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:43,120 on your work because you are playing the long game. 234 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:49,480 Okay, number five is that in the grand scheme of life, these few days that you're at your 235 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:53,920 annual meeting will be part of the things that just kind of disappear in the wash. 236 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:58,320 Yeah, when you really think about it, these days are not going to be remembered. 237 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:03,000 Oh, do you remember, imagine you at 90, you're looking back and you're like, do you remember 238 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:07,400 that annual meeting when I had nothing in the program book and my name didn't even 239 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:08,400 appear? 240 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:13,520 Yeah, that's just going to be, it's just going to, it's going to come out in the wash. 241 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,720 It's not going to be a significant event in your life. 242 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:23,400 And to be honest, if you were featured widely in the program book, it may not be that important 243 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:30,080 either because in your life, there are so many things that are more consequential than 244 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,280 how many things you presented at the annual meeting. 245 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:37,800 So in the grand scheme of life, these few days, they're actually not critical. 246 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:40,080 They are not that relevant. 247 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:45,000 And so if you're having trouble, if you're struggling in any way, just fast forward 40 248 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:51,040 years into the future and look back up on this day and ask your 90 year old self, however, 249 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:57,040 however old you would be 40, 50 years from now, and ask yourself if this day is relevant 250 00:13:57,040 --> 00:13:58,040 in the grand scheme. 251 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,520 And I think you'll find that the answer is probably no. 252 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:02,520 Okay. 253 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:06,720 Number six is, oh my goodness, it's time to enjoy the meeting. 254 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:09,100 You came here to reconnect with old friends. 255 00:14:09,100 --> 00:14:10,920 You came here to make new ones. 256 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:12,440 You came here for networking. 257 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:15,320 You came here to have a great time. 258 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:16,400 You should do that. 259 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:18,480 You should reconnect with old friends. 260 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:20,200 You should have a great time. 261 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:22,560 You should go out with colleagues to eat. 262 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:24,620 You should meet in the cafe. 263 00:14:24,620 --> 00:14:28,840 You should just do things and you should have a great time. 264 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:29,840 Stop reading the program book. 265 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:32,160 I mean, you know, you should learn something. 266 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:35,560 I hope you're here to learn something. 267 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:41,640 I hope you came to the meeting to learn something, but definitely make the most of these opportunities 268 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:46,520 to reconnect with colleagues that you're not going to see again, probably till the next 269 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:49,920 annual meeting or maybe the meeting beyond that. 270 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:55,560 So definitely don't let the Grinch steal your experience. 271 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:58,840 Reconnect with old friends and have a great time. 272 00:14:58,840 --> 00:14:59,840 Okay. 273 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:05,400 Number seven is that you should kick back and relax. 274 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:09,160 So I will tell you that when I come to my annual meeting, I usually do not bring any 275 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:10,760 member of my family with me. 276 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:15,000 I have a whole bed to myself and wow, the room is so quiet. 277 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:16,720 It's so awesome. 278 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:19,140 It's a time for me to just chill. 279 00:15:19,140 --> 00:15:23,520 It's a time for me sometimes actually to go to bed early because it's like, wow, when 280 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:29,080 else in my life do I have a chance to rest and rest as much as possible? 281 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:32,800 And so whenever you can kick back and relax. 282 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,040 And in fact, I have to tell you, the American Society of Hematology is so awesome. 283 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:42,680 They have so many amazing things at the annual meeting and it is such an opportunity to just 284 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:44,280 get some things done. 285 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:50,520 Go grab some swag, go talk to some industry representatives, look around and see what's 286 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:51,520 at the exhibits. 287 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:53,880 There's a lot of great things. 288 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:58,640 And I will tell you that at our annual meeting this year, you know, they're doing free headshots. 289 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:00,080 Okay, so they did that last year. 290 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:03,160 I didn't take advantage of it last year, but I took advantage of this year. 291 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:05,880 You know, you always want a great headshot. 292 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:11,920 Sometimes it takes a few years of headshots to find a headshot that you really like. 293 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:14,800 And kick back and enjoy the meeting. 294 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:21,440 Everything that has been crafted to help you have a great time, kick back and enjoy it. 295 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:22,440 Go to the gym. 296 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:27,520 Oh my goodness, there you are in a hotel and there's access to a gym and maybe you're not 297 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:29,120 a regular at the gym at home. 298 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:33,600 Well, this is an opportunity or there's a pool and it's heated. 299 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:35,280 Take advantage of it. 300 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:40,040 There are so many amazing things to enjoy at the annual meeting that are relevant to 301 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:43,760 the meeting itself or sometimes tangential to the meeting. 302 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:50,140 And if you are not enjoying them, not having a great time, not maximizing your time away 303 00:16:50,140 --> 00:16:56,440 from your usual responsibilities, then you're not enjoying the meeting as you should. 304 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:02,240 And so part of overcoming the annual meeting blues is actually having a great meeting. 305 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:03,240 Okay. 306 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:05,600 Those are seven things that I talked about. 307 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:08,920 Number one, take a deep breath and remember that it is all an illusion. 308 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:09,920 This too will pass. 309 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:10,920 Didn't exist before. 310 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:13,600 Now it will not exist following this meeting. 311 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:14,880 It is an illusion. 312 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:19,780 Number two, recognize that comparing yourself with anyone else is a losing strategy. 313 00:17:19,780 --> 00:17:21,040 Do not do it. 314 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:23,260 Number three, reconnect with the value of your work. 315 00:17:23,260 --> 00:17:25,160 It's always going to be important. 316 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:29,360 Even after the meeting is over, before the meeting was important, it will always be important. 317 00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:30,360 That's number three. 318 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:33,480 Number four, recognize that you're here to play the long game. 319 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:35,440 One meeting is just one meeting. 320 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:37,640 There'll be 300 meetings after that. 321 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:38,640 Okay. 322 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,560 If it's an annual meeting, maybe you just have 30 or maybe you just have 40 left. 323 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:42,680 I don't know. 324 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:44,920 But recognize that you're playing the long game. 325 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:48,760 Number five, in the grand scheme of life, these few days are not relevant. 326 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:50,340 Fast forward to your future. 327 00:17:50,340 --> 00:17:53,200 Look back and recognize that you know what? 328 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,760 These few days do not count in the big scheme of things. 329 00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:59,600 Number six, make sure you're reconnecting with old friends. 330 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:03,720 Number seven, kick back, relax, have a great time. 331 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:04,720 Okay. 332 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,760 This is the point at which I say if you've been hearing extraneous noises, it's because 333 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:09,760 you know what? 334 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:13,480 My quiet hotel room is not really quiet and there are a lot of noises that come through 335 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:14,480 on the microphone. 336 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:18,720 And if you didn't hear them, then kudos to my editor who got rid of all the noises. 337 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:19,720 All right. 338 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:21,200 It's been a pleasure talking with you today. 339 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:24,520 Please share this with someone who's coming back from an annual meeting and having the 340 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:28,840 annual meeting blues and just remind them that, hey, your work is valuable. 341 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:30,480 And this one too will pass. 342 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:31,480 Okay. 343 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:32,880 It's been a pleasure talking with you today. 344 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:38,520 I look forward to talking with you again next time, resuming our regular programming and 345 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:40,040 get back from the annual meeting. 346 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:41,040 All right. 347 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:50,560 You all take care and thank you for listening. 348 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:55,920 Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast, where academic 349 00:18:55,920 --> 00:19:01,640 clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they 350 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:02,720 have a mentor. 351 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:08,800 If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself. 352 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:10,560 Someone else needs to hear it. 353 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:14,600 So take a minute right now and share it. 354 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:20,080 As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation 355 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:26,040 of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.