Solving For Joy

Stop Waiting for Permission to Live the Life You Want with Dr. Saidie Rodriguez What if you didn't have to prove your worth before giving yourself permission to live fully? In this episode of Solving for Joy , I'm joined by my dear friend, pediatric cardiac intensivist and physician coach Dr. Saidie Rodriguez, to explore self-trust, personal sovereignty, and the courage to live on our own terms. A...

The Sabbatical That Changed Her Medical Career: Why Doctors Shouldn't Wait for Burnout What if you didn't have to wait until burnout to give yourself permission to take a break? In this episode of Solving for Joy , I'm joined by palliative care physician and coach Dr. Christie Mulholland to explore physician sabbaticals, time sovereignty, and what becomes possible when we reclaim ownership of our...

The Science of Expressive Writing: How Words Heal the Brain What happens in the brain when we put what we’re carrying into words? In this episode of Solving for Joy , I’m joined by pediatrician, writer, and author Dr. Carolyn Roy-Bornstein to explore the science of expressive writing and why putting our experiences on the page can be so powerful. We talk about writing through trauma, what research...

How to Practice Joyful Service (Without Losing Yourself) Some of us become very, very good at being useful. We care for people. We solve problems. We anticipate what others need. And when service becomes part of our identity, it can be easy to lose sight of how we’re actually showing up in the process. In this episode of Solving for Joy , I’m joined by my friend Alejandra Siroka, founder of Langua...

A week before this conversation, my mom graduated from this plane. She left her body with peace and with ease at 94 years old, after a long life of loving fiercely and generously. And as divine timing would have it, I already had a conversation scheduled with someone who has spent the last decade helping individuals and families navigate death and meaningful goodbyes. In this deeply personal episo...

How to Find More Delight in Everyday Life (Even When Life Feels Heavy) When did we get so serious? Children don’t need extraordinary moments to experience delight. They find it everywhere—in something funny, something strange, sunlight moving across the floor, or simply discovering something for the first time. Somewhere along the way, many of us become incredibly good at getting through the day,...

How to Trust Your Own Desires (Without Feeling Selfish) Do you know what you truly desire? Not what you're supposed to want. Not what looks successful from the outside. Not what everyone else expects of you. Your desire. In this episode of Solving for Joy , How to Trust Your Own Desires (Without Feeling Selfish) , I'm joined by my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Vanessa Calderón , to explore one of...

How to Create a Vision for Your Life (Even When the Path Isn't Clear) Have you ever had the feeling that your life was trying to tell you something... but you weren't quite sure how to listen? In this episode of Solving for Joy , How to Create a Vision for Your Life (Even When the Path Isn't Clear) , I'm sharing a conversation from my friend Dr. Rashmi Schramm's podcast, Inner Peace and Power . To...

Have you ever looked up at the end of a week, a season, or even a year and wondered where the time went? If you've ever felt like you're moving through life on autopilot, you're not alone. I think many of us spend so much time doing, achieving, and caring for everyone around us that we slowly lose touch with ourselves. In this conversation, I'm joined by psychiatrist, psychotherapist, mindfulness...

If you've ever found yourself surrounded by people all day, yet still feeling lonely, this conversation is for you. As physicians and caregivers, we spend so much of our lives showing up for others that meaningful friendship can quietly slip into the background. But connection isn't a luxury. It's one of the things that helps us stay resilient, grounded, and joyful. In this episode, I'm joined by...

This episode explores the powerful connection between stress, the nervous system, trauma, and skin health with board-certified dermatologist and trauma-informed physician Dr. Keira Barr. While many of us think of skin concerns as something happening on the surface, Dr. Barr invites us to consider a different perspective: what if our symptoms are not problems to fight, but messages to understand? T...

Today, we're revisiting one of my favorite episodes on Solving for Joy. This episode explores menopause, movement, running, grief, self-trust, and what it means to reconnect with yourself through joyful movement. Physician, running coach, and fellow physician coach Dr. Michelle Quirk shares how running helped her navigate burnout, loss, and major life transitions, and why movement can be an act of...

Today’s conversation is about teenage girls, social media, anxiety, perfectionism, emotional resilience, and protecting joy in a culture of burnout and comparison. What happens when girls begin losing connection to themselves younger and younger while navigating pressure, performance, comparison, and constant digital noise? In this episode, I’m joined by Jamie Shannon, certified life coach and fou...

Today’s conversation is about physician burnout, survival mode, emotional exhaustion, communication strain, leadership pressure, boundaries, career sustainability, and what it actually takes to stay connected to yourself in medicine. What happens when physicians stay in survival mode for too long and slowly begin losing connection to the parts of themselves that once felt grounded, present, and al...

Today’s conversation is about what happens when something deeply personal changes the way you see everything and quietly reshapes the way you show up in the world. I want to ask you something. Have you ever had an experience that shifted your perspective so much that you couldn’t go back to who you were before? Maybe it changed how you think about your work, your purpose, or the way you care for t...

Have you ever been asked, “What’s your why?”… and found yourself unsure how to answer? Maybe you’ve thought about purpose before. Maybe you’ve even done the work. But something about that question still feels a little abstract… or just out of reach. In this episode, I sit down with Kelsey Vaughn for a behind-the-scenes look at the Why Discovery process inspired by Simon Sinek’s Start With Why. Tog...

Hello, my friend.  If you are a physician, coach, or high achiever who has ever wondered whether it is possible to leave a career you worked your whole life for and actually land somewhere better, this episode is for you. In this conversation, I sit down with my dear friend Dr. Manuela Powell, a former cancer surgeon turned entrepreneur and founder of Doctors Pivot, who helps physicians and profes...

Hello, my friend. If you are a physician, coach, or high achiever who dreams of giving a TEDx talk or keynote and sometimes wonders whether you are truly credible enough to stand on that stage, this episode is for you. In this conversation, I sit down with speaker coach, TEDx speaker, and author Cesar Cervantes, whose book Great Speech is a must read for anyone ready to give transformative present...

Thank you for being here with me. This is a tender season in my life. I am loving my mom while also slowly letting her go. There is no clean way to talk about that. No script for how to do it well. There are moments of sitting at her bedside and feeling everything at once. Love, grief, gratitude, exhaustion. Somehow even laughter still finds its way in. If you have been in a space like this, you k...

Hello, my friend. If you are a high-achieving mom raising an autistic child and sometimes feel overwhelmed by the constant balancing act of caregiving, work, expectations, and your own nervous system, this episode is for you. Parenting in the context of autism can bring extraordinary love, insight, and connection. It can also bring moments of exhaustion, uncertainty, and the quiet pressure to keep...

Hello, my friend. If you are a physician or clinician who finds yourself charting after hours, finishing notes late at night, or catching up on documentation on weekends, this episode is for you. Charting can quietly take over your evenings. It can pull time away from your family, your creativity, and your rest. It does not have to stay that way. In this conversation, you will learn practical ways...

Hello, my friend. If you’re in academic medicine and feeling exhausted, unclear, or quietly frustrated despite working hard, this episode is for you. I’m joined by Dr. Stacey Ishman, MD, MPH , a former full professor with more than 20 years in academic medicine who now helps physicians build promotable, meaningful careers without sacrificing their lives. We talk about what happens when effort stop...

Hello, my friend. I want to talk with you about language. Not grammar or semantics, but the words we use to describe ourselves, our capacity, and our lives. The phrases we repeat so often they begin to feel like truth, even when they’re really just habits. In this episode, I share some foundational ideas from Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP, through the lens of coaching and lived experience....

Hello, my friend. This end-of-year episode is a little different. It’s just you and me, and I want to offer you a tool rather than a conversation. If you’re approaching the new year feeling tired, reflective, or unsure how to move forward without forcing yourself into another round of goals or resolutions, this episode is for you. Instead of goal-setting, I’m introducing a practice I call End-of-Y...

There’s a moment many people are living in right now where the body knows something before the mind catches up. You feel braced. Alert. A little stunned that certain conversations even need to be happening. And while you may technically feel supported in your work or community, safety still feels conditional. That’s where this episode begins. In today’s conversation, I’m joined by Dr. Anna Larson...