Stress-Less Physician

Being able to transform any crisis into a gift is a superskill. The more you develop it, the greater and further reaching the benefits. It may seem strange but it affords us the ability to respond, rather than react. We can learn to not argue with reality. Accepting reality is a path to freedom. This is not to say that we simply accept everything that happens but we no longer expend emotional ener...

Having a lot on your to do list can be either overwhelming or can be viewed as a positive circumstance. On the overloaded side, we can have this belief that if only we worked harder, faster, more efficiently… we’d somehow get to that elusive empty list, that blissful “Inbox 0”. Unfortunately, to believe that can happen in every aspect is a fallacy and thus sets us up for stress. So instead, what i...

We can unconsciously keep ourselves stuck. Subconsciously, we limit ourselves on the level of happiness, abundance, love, success – you name it – that we believe we deserve or believe we can handle. How we get them is from the things we hear, see and experience as we go throughout our lives. Even if we don’t specifically remember being told a limit, inferred ones become solidified in our subconsci...

Considering regrets is a part of life. We wonder if we should have done something differently or not done something at all. We wonder what might have changed if we’d made another choice. Would things be better? Would they be worse? Since I’ve been a coach, I’ve found the reality of evaluating past decisions and having regrets comes up a lot. And I have pondered and explored the possibility that th...

We all know that spending time in nature is a wonderful stress-reducer. Numerous medical studies support the health benefits of allowing nature to rejuvenate us, and countless testimonials to this fact could be garnered from around the world. Why, then, do we not spend more time outside? Could it be because we believe we’re too busy to have it matter? In this episode, I want to explore this topic,...

Not everything that’s hard to do is necessarily bad for us. We know hard work, for example, is rewarding. Right? But it’s also true that not everything that’s hard to do is good for us either. Each has an underlying impact. Yet how do we differentiate between things that are hard but good, and things that are hard and bad? And why does it matter? As physicians, we encounter countless opportunities...

Evaluation. Our brains are performing this function nearly nonstop as we go through our day. It’s part of our decision-making process, how we make sense of the world, and how we keep ourselves safe. However, due to various influences, our brains trend toward the negative more often than the positive. The judgmental mind strategy or pattern we use to protect ourselves actually leaves us feeling unh...

There is a big difference between doing and being. For example, you can experience anger but not be an angry person. You can make a bad decision but not be a bad person. You can fail but not be a failure. When we make decisions and emotions mean something is wrong with us, personally, that those somehow define who we are, we only make it worse. And we make something personal that probably actually...

We live with agreements, whether we acknowledge them or not. There are sets of rules and expectations to which we adhere in order to satisfy the demands of others. We’ve learned to act in accordance with these agreements, to be liked or to fit in, to live, show up and interact with other people in an acceptable manner. In this episode, I discuss the existence of these agreements, specifically four...

We want to be the boss of our mind. Not let it be the boss of us. But often, our responses, emotions and thoughts are so ingrained, so automatic, controlling them seems impossible. But we can. The truth is, we get to choose to believe what we want. I’m not suggesting we ignore proven facts but we can choose. By creating space to think about our thinking, we can gain more authority over our thought...

Forgiveness. Without it, we can spiral into bitterness… even against ourselves. And when we cannot forgive ourselves, we can begin to identify with our mistakes. Rather than seeing something we did (or didn’t do) as being separate from who we are, we assign meaning that isn’t necessarily truth. But what if we could step back and assess ourselves and our decisions in a new light? What if we can rel...

Fresh starts are a necessity in life. A reset, a restart. The new year offers such a wonderful opportunity but what if we didn’t have to wait for a big event (like the changing of the calendar) to start fresh? In this episode, I explore the idea of a fresh start, at any time, on any day, even hour to hour or moment to moment. I share my techniques of practicing this in my own life. And I examine t...

We’re tight... we’re tense… in both our bodies and our minds. While we know that creating more ease in our bodies is essential for both physical and emotional health and wellbeing, we can struggle to know how to make it happen. We need practical steps to feel less stressed and create ease. The good news is, there are techniques we can employ as needed. I personally use the step-by-step practice I...

Goals for the new year. We all have them, even if we don’t make formal New Year's Resolutions. Claiming we’re not going to change anything in the coming year is unrealistic. But so is making goals of changes that are fueled by the wrong reasons or are simply unsustainable. Goal setting, in itself, is a good thing, admirable and worth our efforts. When done right, change can bring about a happier,...

We easily see the downside to things. We bond over shared misery. We even might try to get perspective or solutions by pointing out all the negatives in a situation. Complaining. That verbal form of negativity which, unfortunately, our brains are wired for. Since we’re naturally wired this way, we may think, ‘I’m not always upbeat, so what?’ But it affects more than you might think, and studies sh...

Fear of missing out - FOMO. Those thoughts that tell us others are having more fun or a better experience than we are. We’ve all felt this stressor to some degree or another, at some time or another. But what if it’s possible to stop FOMO forever? As I frequently discuss, much of our experiences in life start with our thoughts. Fear of missing out is no different. So perhaps the answer to qui...

Guilty gratitude. We’ve all experienced it one time or another. That thought that invades and tells you you “ought to” feel grateful. But you don’t. So you try to muster it up… but it’s not true gratitude. It’s only a form of guilt, layering a false emotion on top of your real one. Layering gratitude like this is unhelpful. So what is helpful? Being honest. Not judging yourself for your emotions....

Gratitude is an emotion and a state of mind that brings multiple benefits. Slowing down and reflecting on what we’re grateful for can bring us so much positivity and lift us up. But it’s not necessarily something that comes naturally. We have to work on it. Be intentional about it. With this episode, I want to encourage you to put some new gratitude “tools” into your personal skill set. Exercising...

Letting go can be hard. Even if we academically understand the validity and the health aspects behind releasing negativity and emotions, it can be difficult to put into practice. That’s why it’s extremely helpful to have some idea of step-by-step techniques and questions we can ask ourselves.  In my personal journey to being a stress-less physician, I’ve learned an approach made popular by&nb...

We spend a very large amount of time and energy concerned about the opinions of others. Perhaps too much. While it’s important to be kind and take other people’s feelings into consideration, if it causes us to constantly seek the approval of others, we may have a problem. So at what point are other people’s opinions none of your business? Where do you draw the line that states your freedom will no...

Have you grown up a little too much? Lost the natural child-like ability to just have fun on a daily basis? I think that, as adults, we have to cultivate and create fun for ourselves. We’re quite good at thinking about this and making it happen for the children in our lives, but not so good at making it happen for ourselves. And let’s face it, fun doesn’t just happen by itself. It takes some inten...

Looking back over all that has occurred the past couple of years has reminded me of how precious life and time are. We’ve all had things drastically change in our lives and in the lives of those around us. And all this change has me pondering the depth of what it means to live the moment, and to appreciate the time we have.  Through this episode, I want to encourage you to examine the truth t...

As physicians, as business owners, as human beings, we all struggle with jealousy and/or envy from time to time. Those feelings like others have more or that we want something they have. I’m here to tell you, it’s normal. But if it’s just a natural human emotion, why bother to think much about it? Because I believe examining jealousy and envy gives us deep and valuable insight into how we think ab...

As physicians, we all want to be viewed as a good doctor. But how do you really know? What can you measure to find out? Whether we think of them in this way or not, we have metrics we typically use. We might look at obvious things such as awards or achievements or patient feedback, or we may even have metrics we’re not aware we’re internally using. And surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, n...

For a variety of reasons, we say yes more often than we should. This triggers excess stress and stifles honest communication. But what if saying yes is actually the poorer choice? The truth is, we cannot excel at everything. So knowing how and when to say no is not only personally healthy but it can actually be the kindest answer we can give. Intellectually understanding the value of saying no is...