According to a few different sources, the earliest record of the concept or word “quit” dates back to ~12-1500. From Latin to French to Middle English, the origins of the word more closely once had a definition of “to release, discharge” or “to put to rest.” However, in a contemporary realm, the connotation of quitting has changes and more often than not has a less favored slightly derogatory meaning.

In the current state of affairs at the time i write this, much has changed in the political landscape in the united states affecting the financial burden among the already long time requirement to become a Physician. Over the years, now more than a decade, that I have been on the path towards becoming and being a physician, I have met scores of people that question the worth of becoming a doctor. Is the time sacrifice, emotional stress, and financial debt, really worth it? Worst of all, once you’re committed to the path and you sign your name on that first loan request… Is there any turning back? I have worked with a multitude of medical students, resident doctors, fellow doctors and full-fledged doctors at this point in time and one of the most resounding reasons everyone keeps going is, “well, I have to at this point.” After all, once you’re in debt over $300,000, there aren’t lots of careers without advanced degrees that are easy to slide into without superb entrepreneurial skills to relieve you of that constraint… So, what does one do?

I will go on and on about locum tenens and the financial advantage it gave me; however, it wasn’t just from the work but from a mentality to free myself from standards, to free myself from expectations and “the norm.” Unsurprisingly, once I released myself from the golden shackles and found myself with a total sum of $0 of debt (including no car payments or credit card bills), I began questioning my life and my future career goals. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love being a doctor now and love the job I get to do saving and taking care of very small babies and humans in general; but, what if i wanted to walk away?

Making a decision in a debt-free mind to go back to more school or training (aka Medical Fellowship Training) for 3 years, has been something that has weighed on my life every day since July 1st 2023. The lost wages I have suffered taking an 80% pay cut from doing locum tenens to being a trainee again has been… stifling. Many times along the path, I have asked myself, “should i quit?” I could have easily left and gone back to locums with nothing other than the chance at being a sub-specialist lost. Alas, it has been an almost brainwashed phenomenon for myself and many others like me that, the word “quit” is not in my vocabulary. Afterall, you don’t make it through >10 years of college but quitting, let alone make it into medical school – an acceptance rate of 4%, at least for allopathic (aka MD) schools.

Thus, I stumbled on a new concept at the age of 34: The Sunk Cost Fallacy. New mentors that have popped up along my journey that I respect deeply for their sage wisdom, often have only seen one side of the coin toss and channel their advice thereof. No one, except for One, has suggested, entertained or even mentioned the idea of quitting; and, damn am I glad he did. Now, it should be clear by my writing this with less than 200 days left of my 3rd year of fellowship training, 14th year of college and 26th year of that I ultimately did NOT quit, but it led to larger reflections.

The Sunk Cost Fallacy, if this is the first time you’ve heard of it, implies one is reluctant to abandon or ‘quit’ something due to a large investment already placed into it; BUT, that it might actually be better to quit or change trajectories. With numbers, it’s an easier thing to demonstrate, but with time and life hours spent, it is often harder to realize. Pouring half of your life into a career or any decision really, always makes one feel they owe something to that process. However, this is where the successful and the Not separate. A challenging concept, sometimes it is worth starting over or taking a few steps backwards to jump multiple steps forward. I have witnessed hundreds of people at this point in time that have continued on with a job or a decision (like a marriage) on the premise that the time they invested is the sole reason to continue, not happiness.

As I face each new juncture, I have begun to see through the tinted windows to realize that there may be a time I will need to stop, pivot and reposition and the investment in myself and the future becomes at that point glorious off of the wings of giving up a sunk cost.

Image Credit: ChatGPT