I got an email last week that sent me off the deep end. It was from my hospital system and the subject line was, “The Gift of Being Empowered.”
Inside were links to articles and things they were doing to “empower” employees.
I’m calling B.S. on that. You CANNOT gift empowerment any more than you can gift me confidence, strength, or knowledge. You might be able to facilitate those things, but they cannot be given, they must be earned.
I can’t remember who said it but there’s a quote in learning and education that goes like this.
“He who does the work, gains the knowledge.”
Knowledge can’t be given.
The prize for doing the homework isn’t an A. The prize for doing the homework is the knowledge. If you copy someone else’s work, you’ve gotten nothing except a letter on a piece of paper that means almost nothing.
You have to do the work.
Do you want to be confident when you go into a patient’s room? You have to put the time in. You have to go into 100 patients’ rooms, and then maybe you’ll be confident.
Do you want to be empowered? You have to learn to talk to people and learn how to think for yourself. You can’t be gifted those things.
Do you want to walk into your exams with your head held high, smiling? You have to do the work. You have to gain the knowledge and skills.
You know that the best gifts can’t be bought. Well, I’m adding to that. The best gifts can’t be given either. You have to do the work to get them.
Empowerment, confidence, knowledge, skills, strength, balance, flexibility, health. None of those can be bought and none of them can be given.
Facilitated, yes. Someone can help you get there by pointing you in a direction, but in the end…YOU have to do the work. No one can do it for you.
That’s my Christmas gift to you. It’s one of the most important ideas you internalize. The best gifts are the gifts you give yourself and they have to earned not given.
If you’d like my help facilitating your journey towards earning those gifts, the best way to go is to join Physician Assistant Exam Scholars. That’s where I can help point you in a direction and try to make sure that the work you’re doing will get you were you want to go.
The January issue of the PAES newsletter is going to get you some very serious clarity. We’re going to cover some ideas on knowledge, studying, and learning that you’ve never heard before. These aren’t a magic secret, but they do bring clarity. And with clarity, you can get where you want to go.
Find out more here:
Physician Assistant Exam Scholars
Brian Wallace