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#7 Letter: The Moment I Knew Medicine Wasn't For Me

Happy Monday!

If your Monday isn’t happy because you’re questioning your career trajectory, then today’s edition is for you.

Here’s my story of the moment I knew medicine wasn't for me:
Days were going by at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. A patient asked me how I was feeling about my career. I realized I had been treating symptoms, both his and mine, instead of addressing the root cause.

Have you ever asked yourself:

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You aren’t alone.

Just to reassure you, the average person changed 3-7 careers (over 10 jobs) before they retire (UNMUDL 2024)

To add on to this: 2 in 3 Indians don’t feel confident that they have the skills for career advancement (ADP 2025)

In emergency medicine, we have a protocol: SAMPLE (Symptoms, Allergies, Medications, Past history, Last meal, Events).

You never treat without diagnosing first.

Yet in careers, people jump straight to "solutions" without understanding what's actually wrong.

I’ve mentored over 200+ founders.
The pattern is always the same: Surface Problem ≠ Root Cause.

Real Example: Kartik (name changed for confidentiality), a 32-year-old marketing manager, came to me saying he needed an MBA to "advance his career." Classic symptom-chasing.

My questions revealed:

Solution: He scheduled a performance review conversation within 48 hours. Result: Promotion and new project ownership within 6 weeks.
Total cost: Zero rupees.

Have a situation like this you’re in? Let me know!

Kartik’s story isn’t rare.

Which is why I created a 48-hour diagnosis for anyone stuck like he was.

Hour 1-12: Symptom Mapping
Write down exactly what's bothering you. Not "I want growth"—that's vague.
Write: "I've been doing the same type of projects for 8 months" or "I haven't learned a new skill since March 2023."

Hour 13-24: Timeline Analysis
When did you last feel excited about Monday morning? What changed since then?
Be specific. "Company restructured in July" or "New boss arrived in September."

Hour 25-36: Environmental Scan
Look at your top 3 performers in your industry.
What are they doing that you're not? Don't compare salaries—compare daily activities.

Hour 37-48: Root Cause Isolation
Ask yourself: If you had unlimited resources (time, money, support), what would you do differently starting tomorrow? This reveals whether your problem is external (need new job) or internal (need new skills/mindset).

Try it and tell me if it helped!

The problem isn't knowing what to do. It's the gap between knowing and doing.

If your root cause is SKILL-BASED:
Tomorrow morning, identify one skill your top performer has that you don't. Find the free course. Enroll before lunch. Start Module 1 before dinner.

If your root cause is NETWORK-BASED:
Send three LinkedIn messages to people doing jobs you want. Don't ask for anything. Share an insight about their recent post. I’ll personally buy you coffee if 1 in 10 people don’t respond (ensure you don’t use AI)

If your root cause is OPPORTUNITY-BASED:
Create the opportunity. Document one process that's broken in your current role. Write a 2-page proposal to fix it. Present it to your manager within 48 hours.

The Medical Truth:
In emergency situations, the right action taken immediately saves lives. The perfect action taken too late saves no one.

Your career emergency is feeling stuck for 18 months while taking no action

💡 Quote of the Week

📊 Stat of the Week

86 % of HR leaders say internal mobility is now a top priority — showing companies actively redesign roles instead of hiring externally.
- iCIMS 2024 CHRO Report

❓  Your Questions Answered

Have questions? Click here, and I’ll answer some of them in the next edition. Forward this to someone who needs to read this.

Reply and tell me your story here!