Why You Might Be Chasing the Wrong Dream
From Stimulus - Learn Tools to Crush It in Your Medical Career by Rob Orman, MD
January 20, 2026 · 27 min · Episode 163
About this episode
This episode explores how societal expectations can misguide career ambitions and offers insights on reclaiming personal desires.
So many of our choices are shaped less by desire and more by expectation. We chase prestige, status, or recognition, only to arrive and realize we were climbing the wrong ladder. Beneath burnout and the friction, there’s often the truth that we were never pursuing what we truly wanted. In this episode, we explore the concept of mimetic desire, how it misguides our ambitions, and how to reclaim our decisions. Finally, we examine how fear of judgment and shame shape our careers more than we think, and what it takes to break free. Guest bio: Josh Russell, MD, is double board-certified in Emergency Medicine and Palliative Care. He’s held leadership roles as a Chief Medical Officer in telehealth, artificial intelligence, and urgent care systems. He’s an experienced clinician, writer, educator, and medical editor with a passion for making complex topics accessible. LinkedIn article that spurred this podcast Josh’s Website We Discuss: Mimetic Desire: Chasing What Others Want The Trap of “Should”: Internalized Shame The Concentric Circles of Stressors Finding What You Really Want The Ladder Against the Wrong Wall Actionable Reflection Practices Mentioned in this episode: The…
People in this episode
Host: Rob Orman, MD
Guest: Josh Russell, MD
Topics covered
- mimetic desire
- career choices
- burnout
- fear of judgment
- self-reflection
Keywords
- mimetic desire
- career aspirations
- burnout
- shame
- self-improvement
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Out-On-Time Course
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