By Linda Brodsky and Dana Greenfield

One of the most common concerns about becoming a doctor is how long it takes. After high school, four years of college, 4 years of medical school, 3-7 years of training, it's a long haul and requires a special kind of endurance and dedication.

Confession: Neither of us likes to run, especially not long distances. But what we do is a lot like a marathon. Six principles cover most of the ground. Here are the first three; stay tuned for the next!

1. Keep your eye on the finish line. Picture yourself as a doctor, in your own office, in an operating room, teaching medical students, working abroad, inventing new tools, discovering new cures or whatever you imagine. It will help you stay focused and motivated.

Dana: “In my second year of grad school I'm starting to get really excited about my research project, I keep fantasizing about the cover and title of the book I'm going to write!”

Linda: “I think about all of the children I have helped and now how they bring me their children. From generation to generation.”

2. Keep one foot in front of the other. Runners in it for the long haul tell me that they break up the race into “the next corner to turn” or the “next bridge to cross.” Depending on where you are in your “becoming a doctor” journey, your goals will be different. By approaching hurdles in bit-sized pieces, taking each one at a time, the process is made so much easier.

Dana: “Right now there is so much between me and my PhD and that fantasy book, but I focus on the little, defined, do-able steps: the grant proposals I'm writing, the book I have to finish reading this week, and the presentations I have to prepare for.”

Linda: “I still think about each patient encounter, each surgery, each day in the office or the operating room as the only thing that counts at that moment. It helps me to stay focused and fresh for each patient.”

3. Have cheerleaders on the sidelines. Everyone loves to have family and friends watch them run a race. People who will cheer you on because you are doing something very difficult, something that perhaps they can't do. You get a lot of energy and motivation when others are helping you through the journey. Don’t go it alone. You don’t have to.

Dana: “I often get discouraged, want to quite, feel inadequate for the task, but then I just call my support system. They remind me of what I already know: that this is what I love...then they scold at me for ever doubting myself, which I secretly love to hear.”

Linda: “Over the years, I have made many friends who are my colleagues. I depend on them for support when I want to try something new, have challenges, or just need to share what is special about being a doctor, who is also a wife, mother of 3, and very, very busy.”

This is a marathon post. Time for a break. Stay tuned for the next installment and join us at the finish line.

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