To Catherine of Boston, MA

Catherine asks: Hi there – Can I please have a second thought of how you overcome your fear of failure and move on to make your professional dreams come true?? Thank you for your time. 

Sydney says: Why do pencils have erasers? Think about it…

 Give up? Well, it’s because of MISTAKES. And we ALL make them. Hence, erasers.

 Look, on the road to success, you’re bound to make a few mistakes here and there. Maybe you misdiagnose leaking spinal fluid for a cold. Or perhaps it’s the transcontinental booty call you made last night. Hey, it could even be your decision to ignore your hand tremor and continue to operate on your patients. Whatever the case may be, my point is: Mistakes are commonplace. Mistakes are important. Mistakes are necessary. They’re just another one of life’s building blocks – they allow us to remain strong and enable us to make better decisions in the future.

 That being said, ‘failure’ is not something to be afraid of. Instead, ‘failure’ is something to embrace. As a matter of fact, every time you ‘fail’, you actually win. Why? Because ‘failure’ is just another opportunity to learn and grow. And, when you’re learning and growing, you’re WINNING. Am I right? I am so right.

 I would really love for you to meet my friend, George. Now there’s a fella who has made PLENTY of mistakes in his day. He cheated on his wife, he slept with his best friend, he failed his intern exam, he cut his hair a little too short… I could go on, and on, but none of that stuff is really important. What matters is that George was able to pick up the pieces of his shattered life, put them back together and ultimately move on. He learned. He grew. And, now, he’s on his way to becoming a full-fledged resident.

 I bet George will never cheat on his wife again. Well, he can’t, because they’re now divorced.

 I’d at least wager that George will never sleep with his best friend again. Well, we know that’s not gonna happen because he and Izzie realized they had no sexual chemistry, whatsoever.

 Okay, I’d put money on the fact that George will never fail his intern exam again. I just have a funny feeling.

 And, of course, George will never, ever cut his hair as short as he did the day after he slept with Meredith Grey because George now knows better.

 Catherine, you (and everyone else out there) can learn a lot from George. He didn’t let any of his previous ‘failures’ stand in the way of achieving his dreams. He learned from all of his mistakes. Moreover, he grew from all of his mistakes. And he’ll never make them again.

 George wants to be a surgeon. That’s his dream, and he’s not going to let one itty, bitty little test squash it. George isn’t going to let his fear of this thing you call ‘failure’ get the best of him. No, siree. He’s going to re-take his intern exam. He’s going to pass. And, dog gone it, he’s going to achieve his goals and be the best damned surgeon in the whole entire world.

 Now, I’m going to stop typing, before I get too emotional. But, I’ll leave you with this: The only way to get over your fears is to face them head on. So, go ahead, Catherine. Fail. Make some mistakes. You’ll soon discover that the only real, true mistake is one in which you learn nothing.

 Love,

Sydney