The first time...

The first time of everything is always the most exciting one and you will always remember your 'first time' in doing something. 

I was watching an emergency LSCS yesterday and a senior MO was teaching a junior MO on how to perform the surgery. It was her first time in performing a surgery. To her, it may be an exciting experience that she cant wait to share with her loved ones but to the senior MO, it may be just like any other day that he scrubs in and performs a surgery. As I was standing aside and observing, suddenly the thought of doing something for the first time came flooding into my mind. I remember the first time when I learned to swim, the first time when I learned to speak in public, the first time I clerked a patient, the first time I did venepuncture on a patient, and the list goes on. There is a lot of excitement loaded in those events, but there is also fear in doing something for the first time. When trying something for the first time, you may be doubting yourself, whether or not you are able or capable to perform well enough, or what would other person think of you if you fail and the consequences when you fail. Often, these thoughts of negativism and fear would limit someone from doing what they think they cant do but in fact, they can. The feeling of insecurity often kicks in without you knowing and when that happens, you stop trying for the first time. Instead of having thoughts like that, what if you turned the first time into something exciting and positive?

Our days are built so routinely consisting of endless cycle of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, house chores, work and building relationships. It has been designed in such a way that there are days when you wake up, you just dont feel like doing anything at all. You will find yourself hard to get motivated. In order to make life a bit more exciting, a bit more meaningful, and to feel the thrills again, one need to come out of this routine and do something out of the box, for instance, go on a travel alone for the first time.

It doesnt matter how old you are, how mature you are and how experienced you can be, doing something for the first time in life could be sometimes exciting, unique and extraordinary. And to some, doing something for the second time may be boring or dull, however, if you could recall the mixed feelings you had when doing it for the first time, you may find the second time as exciting as the first time. And remember, you will never be fully prepared for the first time at everything and second experience may not be as smoother as you thought. 

So, when was the last time you did something for the first time?

-Pei Li-