When I discovered Do Hard Things by Steve Magness, the title hooked me and the read did not disappoint. But this is not a book review. My introductory post for Noma is an exercise in reflection, framing, and intention. What Magness unpacks in his 4th book on performance improvement is pursuing one’s better self. Such a pursuit demands awareness and understanding of your feelings, thoughts, and actions.
The founding team at Noma came together with varied histories, but a shared experience…the uncomfortable dissatisfaction with our flawed healthcare system. For me, feeling uncomfortable is nothing new. Becoming a physician is just as much about enduring discomfort as it is cultivating doctoring skills. I remember sleepless nights as a new father filled with uncomfortable concerns about adequacy and the future. Now, for the second time in my career, I feel the wonderful discomfort of building something that did not exist before…first with telehealth and now with psychedelics. In my experience, being uncomfortable signals that I am headed towards something of value. There’s more to it than this, but I’ve found it to be a key part of positive growth.
Accepting uncertainty can be a trigger for curiosity and motivation.
Feeling uncomfortable has a tendency to trigger uncertainty. It is almost inevitable that we question whether something uncomfortable is worth it. And the path of least resistance is a compelling siren’s song for most, if not all of us. Not knowing something for certain directly impacts our identity - our sense of self that we construct over a lifetime. Amid the swirling noise both inside and outside ourselves, it’s understandable that we choose to remain silent or unmoved for fear of looking ignorant or embarrassed. Nevertheless, the greatest lesson I learned early in life was to respond to uncertainty by saying “I don’t know yet.” Accepting uncertainty can be a trigger for curiosity and motivation, which candidly borders on a super-power. Within this burgeoning field of psychedelic assisted psychotherapy, there are a number of things the team and I do not know yet, but we are committed to finding out.
If there were a list of fundamental truths, “change is hard’ would be on it. I have devoted my adult life to better understanding what drives and motivates us to act in both better and worse ways. Positive action requires responsive intention rather than reactive thoughtlessness. Building on this understanding has led the Noma team to offer a transformational solution in response to the overwhelming behavioral health crisis. It moves me to engage with patients in novel ways that align with what drew me to medicine in the first place…to not react to illness or injury, but instead support and maintain wellness. This is hard, but I could not be more grateful or ready to do this hard thing.
Dr. Kim is an internist and psychiatrist who lives and works in Austin, TX and has spent his career caring for vulnerable populations through telehealth. Dr. Kim has served as a clinician, builder, advocate, advisor, and evangelist among other hard things.
