How I Hacked My Mind To Get Accepted Into Medical School
These are the six mental frameworks that helped me get into my dream medical school — and how you can apply them to your own life.
From a young age, I knew I wanted to become a doctor. But somewhere in college, I daouted I would acheive my dreams. I started listening to the wrong voices. People I trusted, advisors, who sounded like they knew better, kept telling me the same thing in different ways: You're not competitive enough. Your background is a disadvantage. People like you don't get in.
I didn't fully believe them. But I couldn't ignore them either.
Slowly, I started to internalize it. I convinced myself that my background was working against me, that I wasn't the kind of applicant who gets in.
Those thought paralized me, until I made these 6 mental shifts:
Who cares what people think about you?
At some point, I stopped caring what people said about me. After all the criticism, I remembered something simple: my life was mine to live. No matter what the experts thought of me, it was my responsibility to make the most of it. So I applied to medical school, despite all odds.
Change your identity by changing your mentality
I stopped seeing becoming a doctor as something I wanted and started treating it as something I had decided. That shift made all the difference. Wanting keeps something at a distance. Deciding brings it closer. Once I made that internal commitment, my actions started to follow. I was no longer asking if I could do it. I was asking how I was going to get it done.
Reduce friction and get the work done
I realized I had been making the process harder than it needed to be. Sitting down to write essay felt overwhelming because resistance was everywhere.
So I simplified everything. I made sure my computer was ready, my documents were open, and everything I needed was already in front of me. That one small change removed the barrier to starting. Once I began, it became much easier to keep going.
There is no tomorrow
Inspired by Rocky II, I told myself there was no tomorrow, no safety net, no backup plan.
For the longest time, I procrastinated taking the first step. I treated my dream like it could wait — like I could always come back to it later. But tomorrow is often where we send the things we're afraid to do today.
I stopped thinking in terms of next year or when I'm ready. I treated that application cycle as my only shot. That urgency forced me to act, and to give everything I had.
Do it for the sake of trying
Even then, the fear didn't disappear.
I was uncomfortable with the idea of putting myself out there — my entire story, my background, my ambitions — laid out for admissions committees to scrutinize, and possibly reject.
I knew that not trying would be worse. I knew I would regret it the rest of my life.
So, I accepted that discomfort was part of the process. I reminded myself that someone who keeps trying never loses
Anxiety is lack of movement
Looking back, I realized most of my anxiety wasn't coming from the application itself. It was coming from inaction.
The moment I finally submitted my application— already a month behind — I felt relief. Immediate, physical relief. Taking action broke the cycle. It reminded me that progress is better than perfect.
Progress is better than perfect.
After all this effort, and against all odds, I was accepted into my dream school and will begging classes this fall.
So, what's stopping you? Go and make the most of your life.
Hit reply and tell me what you are working on, I will cheer you on!
Keep going. I'll see you in the next one.
And if you want to go deeper right now, I share free tools and breakdowns on YouTube every week.
Talk soon,
Hazel
