A surprising song inspires answers to interview questions

Not long ago, a publication requested an interview with me. Ahead of the interview, I was sent a list of questions: What tips would I give to someone graduating from optometry school? What do I wish I had known when I graduated? How do I deal with stress? Have I seen or experienced burnout?

Surprisingly, a country song inspired me to answer these questions and more. Surprising because, to be clear, I’ve always been a classic rock fan. I love most genres of music depending on my mood and the occasion: the “Frank Sinatra” channel for a mixed-generation dinner party, “Hipster Cocktail Party Radio” for Friday evening happy hours, and smooth jazz or “Sting Radio” in the evenings. Not country music.

Expanding horizons

But things change. My classic rock artists are aging and dying. I saw one of the last shows of AC/DC in Fargo, N.D., before Brian Johnson retired due to hearing loss. Malcolm Young, the group’s co-founder, died in 2017. So, I, thought, “it might be time to be open to different genres of music.”

Sitting by the pool on vacation, I ended up listening to “Laid Back Beach Music” on Pandora, which introduced me to country music. I liked it. Then, country artist Chris Stapleton started showing up on my Pandora stations. And “next thing you know” (also the title of a country song), my husband bought us tickets to a Chris Stapleton concert.

Answering the questions

So, I was pondering the interview questions when the song “Doin’ This,” by Luke Combs, caught my attention. The song begins, “Someone asked me once in an interview, ‘what was growing up like? Where’d you go to school? And what would you do if you weren’t doin’ this?’”

In answering the interview questions on tips, what I wish I had known, and stress, here’s what I would tell my future self:

• Take care of yourself. On average, we have about 40 years, give or take, to practice optometry. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
• Energize and re-energize. Go to meetings that re-energize you. Make decisions that keep you loving what you do. Do things that energize you personally.
• Learn something new. Spend time growing your clinical and mental skills. (And, be open to different genres of music, if you aren’t already.)
• Figure out ways to balance yourself. I took part in a forum that discussed hours of work per week. It showed there are many right ways to do optometry that work for each of us.
• Don’t let limiting beliefs stop you from taking chances. You went into this profession for a reason. Remember your “Why.” Here is my “why”: I was the kid who hadn’t seen well since third grade. I know how sight changed my life and how sight changed the lives of other people. It made an impression then. It still makes an impression.

What would I be doing?

That “why” also reminded me of Combs’ answer to what he would do if he weren’t performing. “I’d still be doin’ this if I wasn’t doin’ this,” he sings. So, I asked myself, what would I be doing if I weren’t doing this? I’d still be doing optometry. OM

DR. CARLSON was the first woman to serve as president of the American Optometric Association. Most recently, she was a 2019 recipient of Women of Optometry’s Theia Award for Leadership. In addition to her optometric leadership, Dr. Carlson is a 2020 graduate from the University of Jamestown, with a Master of Arts in Leadership, as well as a John Maxwell-certified speaker and trainer.