The Pursuit of Excellence—the Journey or the Gold

missed gold by less than two points after skating together for 14 years and winning world championships for the previous three. Lindsey Vonn crashed during her first ski run despite a strong World Cup season.

Finding joy in what we do is what ultimately sustains excellence and longevity. Consider Norway, which won more gold medals and more overall medals than any other country at the Winter Games despite having a population of fewer than six million people. Their success is often attributed to a youth sports model that encourages children to participate in a wide variety of activities from ski jumping to cross-country skiing while intentionally avoiding competitive sports until age 12. The focus is simple: Make sport part of daily life and make it fun. Some of those children will eventually win gold medals.

But the real goal is that all of them develop a lifelong love of sport and an active lifestyle.

At a time when burnout remains high in healthcare, and some young surgeons leave the profession despite years of training, perhaps there is something

we can learn from this philosophy. The medals matter, but it is the pursuit of excellence and the joy found in the journey that sustain us. Chase the

process.