The Parallels of Surgery and Jiu Jitsu
I was interviewing Chewy today for a future podcast release and he asked me something that stopped me for a second. We were discussing getting nervous before competition and he became genuinely interested in how I approach hard surgeries. He inquired if get nervous before big surgeries. The honest answer is yes. And the more I sat with it, the more I realized how much prepping for a major surgery feels exactly like prepping for a competition.
The nerves. The pre-surgery and pre-fight rituals. Let me explain…
The Nerves Never Fully Go Away
Why? Because big surgeries and competition are important to me. I invest fully, physically and mentally, in their success.
People assume that after enough reps, the nerves disappear. They may fade a bit, but they never go away. Before a big case, I still feel that flutter, the same one I feel before I compete. And I have come to see that as a good thing. The nerves mean I care. They mean I respect what is about to happen. The day I feel nothing before a big surgery or a big match is the day I should worry.
The Ritual Matters
Just like competition, I have a process I trust. The ritual is not superstition. It is how I tell my brain and body that it is time to perform. Athletes understand this instinctively. Walk into any locker room before a match and you will see everyone running their own version of it.
The night before, I do a 7 minute visualization and then sleep 7 hours. My diet before I go to the operating room is crucial, just like timing and substance before a match. I trend toward ribeye, bacon, sourdough, and honey. The only difference in diet between competition and surgery is coffee. No coffee before surgery because I don’t want the jitters or the feeling of having to poop during.
Before I step out on the competition mat, I have a song that anchors me. Before I go scrub my hands for a surgery, music also anchors me. After setting up the patient and positioning them for surgery, while the nurse cleans the extremity, I am setting up my JBL speaker and setting the tone for the case. It depends on my mood but my go-tos are reggae, chill beach vibes, brazilian music, bad bunny, and 90s hip hop. Then, I scrub my hands, take a deep breath, and push the operating room doors open ready to go.
Planning Removes Fear
Most fear comes from the unknown. So I attack the unknown with preparation. I plan for as many obstacles as possible. I have a backup for the backup. Plans A through F as one of my mentors used to say. The more prepared I am, the quieter the anxiety becomes. It does not eliminate the nerves, but it channels them into focus instead of fear. Just like in jiu jitsu, you can plan for the most common things your opponent will bring, but there might still be surprises. I prepare as much as I can to minimize these challenges both on the mats and in the operating room. In a way, the more I face the unknowns jiu jitsu, the better my mind is to attack the unknowns in surgery when they occur.
Final Thoughts
Whether I am walking into the operating room or onto the mat, the process is the same. Respect the nerves. Trust the ritual. Visualize the work. Prepare relentlessly. The stakes look different on the surface, but the mindset that carries me through both is identical.
Thanks for the question, Chewy. It made me think.
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Dr. Megan Lisset Jimenez
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