[Editor's Note: Today we're featuring the writing of WCI Network Partner, Passive Income M.D. In this post he will convince you to take action and seize the day. YOLO!]
Every day, we’re presented with choices. Some are larger than others, and though some make little difference in the grand scheme of things, some choices can be life-altering. In life and in business, when we have a big decision to make, it’s all too easy to err on the side of caution–sometimes to our personal or financial detriment. It’s human nature.
But what is it that keeps us from making tough choices and taking risks? Well, neuroscientists think they’ve found the answer. In her book Stop Playing Safe, Margie Warrell says that “human beings are neurologically wired to overestimate the size of risks, underestimate our ability to handle them, and downplay the costs of inaction.”
In our lives, we tend to play it safe and stick to the status quo, even when the situation may be hurting us presently or in the future.
The Cost of Inaction
In a fantastic Ted Talk, Tim Ferriss shared how he confronts his own fears. He simply defines the fear, estimates the worst possible outcome, and then makes a plan for how to mitigate that outcome. This process helps him take the necessary steps to act effectively.
The truth is, our minds naturally seem to go straight to the worst case scenario. We weigh the potential cost of taking action, and that holds us back. But according to Ferriss, what we should be focusing on more is this cost of inaction. Meaning, what might your life look like in 6 months, to a year, to 3 years if you avoid taking this action or making a decision?
Perhaps this fear is a natural instinct that’s kept us humans alive all these years. However, it’s also kept many of us from reaching our full potential and living the lives we want.
Playing It Safe in Medicine
But how does this apply to our day-to-day lives? Well, many of us, especially in medicine, find ourselves walking down a certain path. We may have chosen it for ourselves, but that path may have left us feeling unhappy or unfulfilled. Still, we find that even though we want a change, we’re too paralyzed to try something new, even if it’s just something on the side (like a side hustle).
We think about what we might have to give up or what failure might look like, and we underestimate our ability to be successful in other ventures. We also pay absolutely no attention to the cost of inaction, which is what our lives will ultimately look like if we do nothing.
We see the results of this mindset in the growing epidemic of physician burnout. Perhaps many of these physicians saw the warning signs but refused to act on it, and for them, the cost of inaction is burning out completely.
Cost of Inaction in Business
You also see this playing out in businesses all the time. Certain businesses are satisfied with the status quo and refuse to grow. It may not have been fear exactly, but a decision based on consensus judgment. Still, the cost of inaction is readily apparent in many cases, like the ill-fated Blockbuster.
Did you know that Blockbuster had a chance to buy Netflix for a measly $50 million back in 2000? The CEO passed on the opportunity, and now Netflix is worth more than $30 billion. The cost of inaction was very high for Blockbuster (how many of you are still renting DVDs?).
Disruption happens and companies that learn to adapt and change do well. In the business world, this is referred to as “pivoting.” Take Starbucks for example: when they first started all they did was sell beans. It wasn’t until Howard Schultz took over in 1987 that they changed their business and became a coffee house . . . and the rest is history.
Apple is another prime example. They could have been content to make computers, but they decided to take a risk. Long story short, how many of you have an iPhone in your pocket?
My Own Personal Fear of Inaction
Personally, there have been countless times when I’ve played it safe. I’m human. It might’ve worked out sometimes but I’m sure I’ve paid the consequences as well.
I can, however, distinctly remember a time when I actually considered and focused on the cost of inaction. Within my first year or so of working as an attending, I heard that some of my anesthesia friends’ groups were being bought out by a larger corporation. They were basically given an ultimatum: either drop a significant amount of their income or consider finding another job.
They ended up working harder than they had before, only to get similar pay, and not surprisingly, headed down the road to discontent and burnout. This led me to believe that job security in medicine is a myth.
So even though I had dedicated over 12 years of my life to the field of medicine and this specialty, I quickly realized that if I put all my eggs in that basket and expected it to give me the life and security I wanted, I could end up in the same boat as them.
So I committed myself to learn more about finances, to finding other multiple streams of income, to hedge my bets. In a sense, I learned to “pivot” a bit. That led me to start investing in real estate, to start businesses, to save and invest as much as possible–all while trying to achieve a better balance in my life while still enjoying a life as a physician. I saw what my life could look like if I did nothing and I feared the cost of inaction the most.
Fast forward 5-6 years and nothing’s happened to my group, but I’m in a great position if or when that happens. I also feel like I’ve found a great work-life balance and I have choices in how to spend my time. In that time, I know of another friend whose group was bought out and they all faced a similarly tough situation. Such is the business of medicine today, unfortunately.
Summary
To quote Margie Warrell again, it seems that “in an effort to take the safest path possible many people end up living a life they would never consciously have chosen.”
The bottom line is that we need to make choices out of inspiration, not fear of failing. The only fear that should motivate us is the fear of inaction. Consider what your life would look like in a year or three or five if you don’t make any changes. Are you content with where you are or will be? I’m constantly trying to answer this question for myself.
One of the great motivators of our time, Tony Robbins, likes to say that if you don’t get the result you want, change your approach. If you still don’t get it, then change your approach again. Sometimes it takes big action and taking some smart risks.
What do you think? Are you happy with the balance and where you are in your life? If so, that’s amazing. If not, are there choices that you would make differently if fear wasn’t in the way? Should you take the fear of inaction more seriously? Comment below!
Good for you PIMD,
It is hard to take a “path less traveled” in medicine. I see a lot of doctors who are unhappy in their chosen field and the way they seem trapped. They seem resistant to doing anything different. Why not leave, or change, or start a side-gig, or build up a passive income stream I ask them. They look even more fearful and they tell me they can’t. The reason is never a good one though. I but it is the underlying fear of the unknown, fear of failure, and the comfort of their comfort zone that keeps them where they are.
Ferriss is right about reducing anxiety by contemplating the worst. The ancient stoic philosophers recommended such “negative visualization.” It is a little counter-intuitive. One might think that focusing on the worst would make them more anxious. I remember a testing and performance psychologists talked at my medical school before the USMLE exam. He said what is the worst thing that could happen? You fail! So what! Study more and take it over, right? He was right. It wasn’t truly a matter of life and death. That perspective calmed many of us and ironically reduced our rates of actual failure.
So folks, get started. Open the IRA. Submit a request to HR to route some money from each check to your investments. Open a 529, Pay double your mortgage payment this month. Buy that single-family rental home.
Small steps against inaction have strength!
I enjoyed this essay, and like the message of hedging your only income source with side gigs or at least educating yourself financially. However, the main premise is flawed, which you very well demonstrated with the example of anesthesiology groups. Without the benefit of hindsight, one could have reasoned that not selling their group to a large corporation would have been the inaction with dire financial repercussions. So…unfortunately no mantra can substitute the ability to considers all factors that go into making sound business decisions.
Inertia is the biggest culprit for people not going beyond their comfort zones. It is so easy to get into a routine and no longer want to “stick one’s head out of the shell” you developed for fear of it getting bit off.
For me I wanted to start a blog for several years and there was one colleague that kept encouraging me to do so. In my mind I had some ideas I thought would be nice to share but I also had more mental blocks I artificially created (there are so many great physician blogs out there, why would my voice adding to the fray be of any benefit to anyone, what if my idea well runs out after 1 month?, would anyone even want to read what I write?). Because of those mental blocks I delayed started a venture that has since brought me a ton of happiness (got to express my creative side, have a wonderful interaction with a great community I respect, etc).
I did not know about the Netflix Blockbuster deal potential. Wow, I bet there is some huge regret there. I regret selling my Netflix stock (before I came across index fund investing) even though I made a nice profit on it but would have made a killing if I had just kept it. That is nothing like a 30 billion from 50 million profit.
I for one am glad you branched out, especially starting PIMD. You started inspiring a lot of physicians to make themselves better.
Just read this as well as the 10 things article and the Tesla comments. And as I am hanging out on my (my spouse’s) new sailboat hosting the kid and her new beau who is really impressed with it I had an epiphany. The boat is the spouse’s Tesla- in fact if he hadn’t wanted it I’d let him get the Tesla which is now his second object of desire. Had I continued not approving this purchase I would now be trying to enjoy a much less pleasant weekend on a smelly (diesel or furniture polish? sometimes both) unreliable boat without the comforts and amenities of this boat which include the two doors between us and the new beau (instead of none), a gangplank much easier on my aging hips than clambering up the boat’s high sides, and real refrigerators!
I will have to apply this, will I be glad I made this choice or postponed it or vetoed it, 1 2 5 20 years down the road from now.
I enjoyed this post and hope to take opportunities as they come my way.
As doctors, we learn to play it safe all of our lives. In practice, we are taught to practice the “standard of care,” in which we do what everyone else is doing. Of course this keeps us from practicing subpar medicine, but it also keeps us from stepping out.
For me personally, there has always been a fear of failure through the years of schooling and and in the present. It’s helped to push me to be as successful as I have been, but it is keeping me from going further.
At least at this point, I know better than my peers that I don’t have to play it safe, working the same job for 20+ years due to fear of losing benefits. But it will take a bit of energy to take the next step.
Well said. Better to try and fail, then fail for never trying. I see a lot of lawyers (my profession) who get trapped in the same mindset.
Fear of failure and the motivation to come over initial inertia, are large factors in people not finding personal fulfillment and success.
I have always thought of medicine as a relatively safe career path. Once finished with medical school and residency, most physicians are able to generate a good wage with a relatively low risk of being fired due to downsizing, outsourcing, etc. In instances when these do occur, the majority are able to land on two feet, even if there is a temporary gap or a need to make a major move. However, my perspective comes from a physician who has worked in academic- and community-based practices. As an employed physician, my current and former employers (universities and health systems) have relied on MGMA or AAMC wage data to benchmark salaries.
That being said, I did have some major decisions to make in the past few years. The first of these was to pursue an MBA, and the second was to co-found a healthcare startup. I’m still waiting to see if that second venture is going to gain traction.
I used to think that being a doctor was the safe path while being an entrepreneur too risky. As I look back, with the numerous hurdles I had to jump, any one of which could have derailed my plans, I underestimated the risk inherent in taking this path. I’m happy w how it turned out, but I can’t say it was the less risky option. In order for it to really work, I still need to be able to do this job for 2-3 more decades—far from a sure thing.
I never really thought of longevity risk as a significant risk, but you’re right, there is risk there.
As an orthopod, I need to be in pretty good physical shape to do the job and not break down. Since I fix the broken down every day, I am sensitive to this risk. Striving to be Lebron and not Derrick Rose.
Longevity has long been a risk mentioned in discussions here. Forms it take are varied. Early retirement, disability insurance, burnout etc.
All are the same in that the primary income source goes away. My question is naive and simple.
For time spent, it seems medical practice would have a higher rate of return per hour than time spent blogging or doing rental properties.
Are side gigs in medicine not feasible?
I can see the MBA entrepreneur opening
Physical Therapy business and leveraging business by employing others or even distribution of medical supplies and equipment. Surgical centers are an example.
Investing in rentals could be a silent partner funding rather than doing.
Backing a blog site rather than writing.
Or is it the burnout and desire to do something different that translates into no more medicine period?
I was impressed with the healthcare startup. Vertical integration might work as well. Blogging has much lower barriers to entry.
In business, sticking with core competencies normally is a successful path. Hobbies are great, don’t read this as a criticism, it’s hard to turn a hobby into a money maker.
As dentists we are forced to take on significant debt and risk to have financial success. It seems like no other profession requires such a large investment in education (which a dental degree is one of the most expensive)… and then the purchase of a practice which is easily another $500,000k+. The dentists who don’t take the risk of practice ownership earn far less over a career…. but being $1Million plus in debt can make it a bit hard to sleep at night for someone in their 20’s or 30’s. Glad I took the risk young and am enjoying the rewards now
I really enjoy your insight and wisdom on taking action and overcoming once’s fears. I know from my own life experiences, that inaction can destroy your dreams and life goals. Fear is a poser who tries to convince you and I to play it safe and not take any risks in life. However this only keeps us stuck in our mediocre lives. Once again, thank you for your article. Perry
Thanks PIMD,
That was very well written and provided many thoughts to consider, which will (hopefully) result in taking more action resulting in positive change rather than taking none and being stagnant. Your summary also wrapped it up nicely.
A good read for the first day of 2022.