This is Lab Medicine Rounds, a curated podcast
for physicians, laboratory professionals and students.
I'm your host, Justin Kreuter, the Bow Tie, bandit of Blood
a transfusion medicine pathologist at Mayo Clinic.
Today we're rounding with Beshoi Nashed,
a medical student visiting us
from Medical University of the Americas, St.
Kitts and Nevis.
I've been really impressed by him,
his attention to detail, dependability
and I think he's got a really interesting perspective
which helps him succeed where many of us are challenged.
So today on Lab Medicine Rounds podcast
we're gonna be talking about the perspective of no excuses.
Thanks for joining us today
Nashoi.
Thank you for having me on this podcast, Dr.
Kreuter. I really appreciate this opportunity
and having me here as one of your guests.
Well, I think this is gonna be a fun extension
from the conversation that we had earlier in your month
maybe for our audience, which is a, a combination
of clinicians, laboratory professionals and students.
You can kind of kick us off with,
where were you first introduced
to this no excuses philosophy perspective, and what is it?
Yeah, that's actually a very great question
and it's very important to me as it made me who I am part
a big part of who I am today.
So back when I was studying during my undergrad studies
at University of California Riverside,
my biology undergrad studies, I
I got introduced to working out.
I had never worked
out being an immigrant coming from the Middle East
United Emirates, Abu Dhabi specifically.
It's not really a, it wasn't a common thing
at least back in the day to work
out or to really take care of your health.
So that's something that I really wanted to do
during the first semester at UC Riverside.
So I joined nearby gym and I began working
out and kind of dabbling in different workouts, running
and then I heard about this thing called CrossFit.
So I decided to join a gym not too far from my campus.
And during the first few weeks
that I was working out there on the weekends
I noticed these two brothers that would come in to work
out with us and have these kind of workout challenges.
Back in the day
they used to call it kind of the regionals for workouts.
So they had to do these qualifier workouts
and I used to just sit around, watch 'em,
watch how they train, and it stood
out to me that they were very
very unique in how they not just trained and worked out
but how their mindset came to approaching the workout
which really attracted, like, attracted me to
to ask her more questions on how they got
to that level of training and that mindset of training.
So I asked
if I could start training with them, and sure enough
they invited me to their gym, which was called N O X.
And it sounded a little weird to me.
So I was like, N O X, knocks.
So why is your gym called that?
And they said that it's called
that because it's called no excuses.
So that's why they chose N O X
and that's kind of how it all started.
It's so funny you say N O x I was thinking the gym
of hard knocks, but I
I see where you get to, to no excuses.
It, it's, so what does, I mean, I
we know what no excuses mean
but really what's that perspective that they had
that they really kind of imparted on you?
What did, what did that look like?
Right. So I initially joined them
because I wanted to take my training to the next level.
What I didn't know is I'm also gonna take my mindset
and my personality to that next level.
And I'm very grateful for that and for, for them
for ingraining that in me.
So basically my goal was to improve my workouts
and get better over time, which did happen.
However, what I started noticing is
that my mindset approaching these workouts began to change.
In the beginning.
I used to approach them with fear.
However, one
of the things that they would do to not allow to
to kind of not instill fear in me is they, for example
wouldn't tell me what their workout is
for the day until I showed up.
And then after showing up, they're like, okay
this is what we're gonna do today.
So, and that was pretty much the hardest part
for me in the beginning is showing up.
And soon I learned that showing up was half the battle.
The rest was history once you showed up to put in the work.
And over time, I also noticed
that that transferred over to my studies in my undergrad.
Some days I would tell them, Hey, look
I can't come work out.
I have this in a few days.
Or, Hey, I need to take some time off from working
out because I have these other priorities that I
need to take care of.
And they would always tell me, look up.
And I would look up and what I would see is N O X written
on the, on the ceiling, which goes back
to the whole no excuses and what, what, what that showed or
or that what, what that helped me with is creating a balance
in my life and creating priorities.
If I can't take care of my health initially and foremost
how am I gonna go to my school to take care of my studies?
If I can't take care of my health
how am I gonna take care of my family?
And so on and so forth.
So there's also this very nice quote
by the d Dai lama that it, it kind of, in summary
it says that what surprised me most
about man is that they seek money, they seek quel
they seek all these things
but they forget about their health.
And they end up spending all their money, all their time
all their energy to take care
of their health at the end of their life.
So that kind of, we, we instilled in
in me a new purpose of, in a new mindset when
approaching different things in life, whether it's working
out work relationships, spiritual relationships, any
any anything, whether it's church, school, any of that.
I think it's very, very important to have that mindset going
in with the no excuses mindset.
You know, I, I suspect many
of our listers may have similar experiences, perhaps
you know, this time of year, I, I guess we're recording this
at the very beginning of February
so maybe there's some New Year's resolutions
that have kind of fell by the wayside.
You know, many
of us kind of struggling with time management.
You're talking about all these different, you know
responsibilities that we're working to, to juggle.
Having gone through this, having kind of struggled through
and navigated the, those, those early phases
of how do I work with this new kind of perspective
what do you think's important
for our listeners to understand about what is it
that that allows you to be successful
with this no excuses approach?
I think there's two very important things to realize
before even having the no excuses mindset or approach.
First off, we all have 24 hours in a day, just
like you have, the 24 hours have the same exact 24 hours.
So what we prioritize to do in those 24 hours comes down
to a personal choice and a personal decision
that sometimes we make that decision subconsciously.
And that's something that builds over time.
It doesn't just, doesn't happen overnight.
So that's the first thing, realizing we all have 24 hours.
The second most important thing is also not
knowing that there's specific things that are gonna be
out of your control.
So a very nice thing that I always write
like to remind myself of, it is control, which you can't
and which you can't.
You can't.
So what that translates into, basically
there's always things that are gonna happen, whether
for example, as a medical student, I might have a
a family emergency or an exam that's coming up.
There's always things that, those things, I
if it's an exam, I can prepare for it ahead of time.
If it's a family emergency that's outta my control
I don't know.
I like, I, I can't prepare for that.
So the things that I can control, I need to prepare
for ahead of time and the things that I cannot control
then I can't, I, I can't stress about.
So with those two points in mind
creating a plan ahead will allow one to not face those
those failures, you know, or those struggles.
And then realizing that we all, again, like I said
we have 24 hours in the day and prioritizing your time.
It doesn't have to be three hours
it doesn't have to be like half your day
but just making sure you give back to your body
because that body of yours
you're gonna use it not just to take care of patients.
If, if it's people medicine or any other specialty
your body's gonna come back one day and tell you, Hey
here's your bill, pay pay up.
And this kind of happens only towards the end of life.
So maybe we don't see it much in our youth time
but as we grow older and realize
I I should have taken care of my body when I was younger
that it kind of
it becomes a little too late and that's when regret happens.
So planning ahead, it's kinda important for that.
Yeah, I'm really glad that you reminded us where you are
on your journey, you know, as
as a medical student currently.
Sometimes I think back to, you know
my life now as a physician, staff physician, I've
I've got a lot more regularity in my schedule
than I did as a student or when I was a resident.
And so, you know, we're really hearing this
this message and, you know, you're being successful
in this way despite the challenges of the chaotic schedule.
And it sounds like a
a key part of that is having that appreciation
for what you can control, what you can't control.
And so maybe it's not a three hour workout that you do, but
but you show up and do 20 minutes, right?
Or something like that.
Yes. And and again, I'm
I'm not gonna say I'm in the exact same shape
or form that I was during my undergrad studies, however
just a little bit every ti every day adds
up just to keep you just, just enough in shape, you know
so that when you're going up the stairs, for example
you're not out
of breath when you're talking to your patients.
You're able to
they're able to see you as an example, for example
You know, and you've been doing this now
for a number of years, you know, as you're saying
you've been in multiple environments and situations.
I, I'm really curious
how has your practice changed, if at all, over that time?
Actually, that's a, that's a very, very good question.
My answer to that would be it has, and it has not changed.
Now what does that mean?
It has changed, as in I was able to take that mindset
and apply it to different situations.
So for example, whe when, back
in the day I used to train and have these competitions
in weightlifting that allowed me to go on the stand
in front of an audience, and I had three shots at one lift.
That mindset and that fortitude that I was able to build
over time allowed me to be able to kind of present
to an audience and be prepared in that mental aspect.
I take that as exact same mindset when I have, for example
very important presentations to faculty and staff
kind of like the one I had earlier today.
And be confident and plan ahead so that I'm very organized
in my thoughts, so that when I speak
I can have the same exact confidence level.
So the preparedness in both ways
they're different and that's how they're both
it's different situations, but same.
So taking the mindset from working
out and applying it to different situations in life.
Phenomenal. And, you know, going back to this mindset
I remember a couple of years ago when I was just starting
out on staff and I went at a coaching session
and talking about this common challenge of, you know, oh
I got so many things in the day.
And I remember the coach that I was working
with was like, okay, if you, if you had
if there were 26 hours in the day
do you think you would get this done?
And I was like, oh, absolutely.
They were like, Nope, try try again.
Right. I think, you know, you've kind of shared a lot
of key points here about, and, and really looped back
boomerang back to this importance in putting the emphasis
on mindset for our listeners to reflect and think about.
I, I'm curious now if you know, listeners are interested
I think sometimes it
it might seem intimidating to try to cultivate this mindset
and certainly you had great coaches that you were working
with in, in the beginning that got you started
on this way, on this path.
Where do you recommend our listeners?
Where, where should somebody get their own start?
I think it depends really
on the listener and where they, what stage they are
whether in their training or in their life or what
what part of the country as well, or if outside the country.
I think it's, it's important
for us to start with little steps.
So if it, if, if these are changes you wanna make
to your workout, for example, life start, don't
don't start with like long
or very extreme workouts that will quickly drain you
and eventually make you dislike working
out in the first place.
If this is a change you want to make
in your professional life, for example
don't automatically go pursuing, for example
a PhD and spend like, you know, most of your day in the lab
because that might drain you and not allow you to
enjoy what you thought you might enjoy at one point.
So what I
what I recommend is doing everything in moderation
everything in balance and over time, building those little
little building blocks, that's what would make a difference.
You know, whether it's professionally or if it's
in their workout or like healthcare aspect just a little bit
at a time over time makes a big difference.
Overnight changes are really not like a, a
a key for success.
So true.
And how quickly, I forget that.
But truth be told for our listeners, since you came
and first spent some time with me earlier this month
I've been doing the one mile a day run
in the morning just trying to get those small, small wins
enjoying my workout.
That's awesome.
Especially in the Rochester, you know, Cole.
So that's
This is, this is inside.
I'm treadmill doing it.
Oh, great point.
So thank you so much.
We've been rounding with Basho nad to discuss this
no excuses perspective.
Thank you for taking the time to talk with us about this
Dr. Corter.
It's really been a pleasure.
Thank you for having me
and allowing me the opportunity to share my perspective
and hear my story.
Absolutely. Our pleasure.
To all of our listeners, thank you for joining us today.
We invite you to share your thoughts
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