Let’s explore external validation. I believe it’s an important topic since it, along with unhealthy perfectionism and a couple of other issues, played a role in my burnout story. Residents, and faculty alike, often fall prey to an unhealthy desire for others' approval.

The satisfaction of external validation is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. It’s a natural occurrence with some adaptive consequences historically.  Wanting to belong and a desire for external validation go hand-in-hand. Th...