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  • Looking back to graduating high school over 10 years ago, I barely even recognize myself.

  • Even looking back to when I graduated college or more recently, medical school, I've changed

  • so much that I feel like a completely different person.

  • I like to think I've come a long way.

  • In this video, we'll cover some of the strategies and insights I've learned in being an effective

  • adult.

  • What's going on guys, Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.

  • These tips will start from foundational principles and build in specificity from there.

  • To see the full list, along with timestamps, check out the description.

  • First, let's take a deep breath.

  • There isn't a magical age at which everything makes sense, or when it all clicks and you've

  • finally got it all figured out.

  • After becoming a doctor, I have become more acutely aware, not less, of how much I do

  • not know.

  • I know, it's ok.

  • I was disappointed when I learned this as well.

  • When I was 18, I would look at those 10-15 years older than me and thinkwow, life

  • is going to be so much different when I'm their age.”

  • And now that I'm one of those people, I can say many things have in fact changedmy

  • personality, my fears, my strengths, my weaknesses, my maturitythat last one is actually

  • debatablebut many things have remained the same.

  • At the end of the day, we're all just improvising and figuring life out as we go along, so don't

  • let that discourage you.

  • You'll grow more comfortable with the uncertainty and more confident in navigating it, but the

  • uncertainty will always remain.

  • That being said, there are certain skills and mindsets that will make the transition

  • to adulthood much smoother.

  • This first skill is a meta-skill of sorts, meaning it will help you pick up other skills.

  • That skill is learning.

  • If there is one thing I hope you take away from this YouTube channel and our website,

  • it's learning how to learn.

  • And while I've covered all the best and scientifically proven methods of learning

  • more effectively, including the study tricks and strategies that saved me in medical school,

  • that isn't enough.

  • You must also learn to think for yourself and question your own assumptions.

  • They say you're the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.

  • I say you're the average of all your inputs.

  • Choose wisely the people you spend time with, but also the books you read, the TV shows

  • you watch, and the news articles and political slants you expose yourself to.

  • It's natural to associate yourself with people and ideas that you agree with.

  • But this is a dangerous path, and will foster close-mindedness, intolerance, and stunt your

  • own maturity and development.

  • Practicing open-mindedness means not becoming emotionally reactive when someone has a differing

  • viewpoint.

  • It means reading broadly, and expanding your perspective beyond your current comfort zone.

  • Don't just expose yourself to what you know and agree with.

  • Each of us only has 24 hours in a day.

  • On one hand, it's a discouraging truth, as there's so much more I wish I could do

  • if I only had more time.

  • On the other hand, that's incredibly inspiring, as every human who has ever lived and done

  • great things had the same 24 hours that you do.

  • That doesn't mean to work as hard as you can in those 24 hours.

  • That's not a good idea, which I learned the hard way.

  • Life is a marathon, not a sprint.

  • People often use this phrase to justify not working too hard, but it cuts both ways.

  • As a marathon, you don't want to burn yourself out by working too hard and ignoring healthy

  • habits.

  • But as a marathon, you also must put in consistent and calculated effort, as being lazy or undisciplined

  • will be harder to make up for later.

  • There are a few videos on the channel and blog posts on the website that cover every

  • skill you need in order to manage your time better than even a CEO.

  • In the grand scheme of things, don't forget to prioritize sleep, exercise, proper nutrition,

  • productivity, and fun.

  • Each of these elements in a balance is critical for long term success and sustainability.

  • Your systems are perfectly designed to produce the results they get.

  • If you don't like the results, then you have to tweak the systems.

  • Or as James Clear says, you don't rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level

  • of your systems.

  • No matter how hard you work to optimize your systems, there will always be ways to improve

  • them.

  • Regularly reflect and alter your systems, which alters your habits, which ultimately

  • alters your life trajectory.

  • In your experimentation, familiarize yourself with tools to integrate into your system.

  • I've played around with task managers and landed on Things3 as my app of choice.

  • I've chosen Google Calendar which syncs to Apple Calendar on my devices, and I use

  • Evernote to organize most of the content and information in my life.

  • And I use HabitShare to track the progress of new habits I'm working to implement.

  • These may not be the best for you, and that's fine.

  • But don't be afraid to experiment and try out different systems to see what is best for

  • you.

  • After years of experimentation, I now live by my calendar.

  • For most people, that level of structure is overkill.

  • But when I travel, I don't plan ahead and instead I let things unfold spontaneously.

  • For some, that's not structured enough.

  • My biggest and most transformational periods in my life came after enduring extreme challenges.

  • When you hit rock bottom, you can only go up, and there's something beautiful and

  • liberating in that.

  • But we don't have to wait for fecal matter to hit the fan in order to experience growth

  • and transformation.

  • By simply walking toward your fears, rather than running away, you will open up a new

  • reality for yourself.

  • For me, public speaking was a significant obstacle.

  • I worked towards improving that, and while it was initially scary, it also bolstered my confidence,

  • and now I even enjoy public speaking.

  • And I never thought I would say that.

  • My own growth was catapulted once I became more comfortable in my own skin.

  • It's easy to love your strengths, but learning to accept your weaknesses with compassion

  • is truly powerful.

  • I used to believe that because of Crohn's disease I needed to prove something, or that

  • something was broken within me.

  • That had its utility, as it pushed me to accomplish more than I ever thought possible.

  • But at a certain point, it no longer worked for me, and started holding me back, as I

  • soon found myself with workaholic tendencies.

  • I talk about how a relationship lead me to this breakthrough on my personal Instagram.

  • Spirituality gets a bad rap.

  • You have religion on one extreme, and science on the other.

  • But spirituality can live in the middle, be entirely scientific, not based on false realities,

  • and yet profoundly powerful in allowing us to lead more effective lives.

  • I'm not suggesting you need to believe in anything mystical at all.

  • If you haven't explored secular meditation and mindfulness, I highly suggest you check

  • out Waking Up by Sam Harris.

  • Link in the description below.

  • It's one of my favorite books I've read this year and it's entirely scientific,

  • without any mysticism or woo-woo that often permeates the world of spirituality.

  • You go to the gym to train your body.

  • Why would you not train your mind?

  • Two excellent books, The Subtle Art by Mark Manson and Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink,

  • both touch on the importance of taking responsibility for everything in your life.

  • Taking responsibility for something does not make it your fault.

  • But taking responsibility allows you to take action, learn, and ultimately benefit from

  • any situation.

  • When I was the passenger in a violent car accident, it wasn't my fault that the other

  • driver ran a red light, but it was my responsibility to handle the aftermath.

  • Responsibility allows for action and learning.

  • Failure to take responsibility leads to inaction.

  • If you enjoyed this video, check out my weekly newsletter.

  • In it, I share insights and tips once per week, in addition to helpful tools, resources,

  • articles, and study music.

  • If I'm launching new projects, like my upcoming podcast, or meeting up with fans, like on

  • my trip to Asia, then this newsletter is where you'll hear about it.

  • Visit medschoolinsiders.com/newsletter or click the link in the description below to sign

  • up.

  • Thank you all so much for watching, and happy adulting.

  • Are there any tips that you think I missed?

  • Let me know down in the comments if you have any adulting 101 tips of your own.

  • New videos every Saturday at 8AM, so make sure you're subscribed with the notification

  • bell enabled.

  • And I will see you guys in that next one.

Looking back to graduating high school over 10 years ago, I barely even recognize myself.

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