Idea Heist

As a doctor I find it difficult to embrace the idea of being an ' Imperfectionist'.  A doctor can't afford to have low standards, a doctor can't afford to make mistakes. A doctor has to be perfect. If there is any profession on the planet that demands perfectionism then surely it's medicine. It's thoughts like these that have prevented me from practicing clinical medicine all these years. A part of me knew that I would never be able to live up to my own extreme standards, and so I decided to become an epidemiologist instead of a clinician. If I make a mistake as an epidemiologist, it stays on paper. No one dies or gets hurt. Some may commend this kind of thinking, but looking back I see how foolish it is. What if all doctors thought like me? No one would practice medicine! Yes, it's important to have high standards and do your best, especially if you're a doctor and that's why it's so critical that doctors DO NOT become perfectionists. I

Imperfectionist is my 'one word' for 2017. The idea is that this year I will put effort over perfection and thus ensure that I work towards achieving my goals instead of just dreaming about them. I've played with this idea for a long time but it is Stephen Guise's book 'How To Be An Imperfectionist' that real drives the point home for me. I'm just halfway through the book, but it has already inspired me to start this blog, and for this I shall be ever grateful to the author. I've started blogs before but I've never really been able to maintain them. I've spent many hours thinking of 'perfectly clever names' for blogs and then registering them but have never really got down to doing any real writing.The reason for this is that I set exceptionally high standards for everything that I write and can't bear to settle for anything that is less than perfect.This may sound 'professional' on practice but as anyone who struggles with

I love good ideas. I collect them like some people collect rare coins or precious artwork. I believe that a good idea is rare, precious and worth stealing. I'm not talking about plagiarism or copyright infringement of course, I'm talking about ideas such as self improvement concepts and life hacks that have worked for others and that I could make my own.The purpose of this blog is to share with you the best ideas that I have come across and that I have stolen or plan to steal for myself.I'll be discussing my experiments and experiences with the ideas and strategies that I use to implement them to make my life better. I'll be testing ideas in the real world and reviewing them on the basis of their effectiveness in improving the quality of my life.I hope that by so doing I can grow a little wiser with each passing day, and that by sharing my thoughts with you  I can contribute in some way to making your life better.