Cultivating Joy in the Journey of Medicine - Overview

For my new blog series, I am tackling how to enjoy the journey of medicine. Many greater philosophers, leaders, and authors than me have taken on the expansive subject. So, I find myself questioning my ambitious quest to assist readers in this manner, especially divorced from personal coaching. However, the one thing I have learned after over 3 years of weekly blogs is I need to write about what weighs on my mind.  

And currently, that is how to shift to finding pleasure along our paths to our destination instead of when we get there. This seems timely, as we just went through Match week, and some went through the often stressful SOAP process, and we have goals and destinations in mind.  

Since psychologists, theologians, and philosophers all have different takes on the meaning, even within their own disciplines, let me highlight my intended use of the term. I want to come at this at 2 levels: an affective one and an emotional one.  

The affective approach to defining joy is grounded in our basic sense of feeling, not a momentary emotion. It transcends circumstances and is pleasant and longer lasting. Other synonyms that also have varying definitions that may add clarity here are the state of well-being, flourishing, engagement, satisfaction, and fulfillment.  

I want to add that this approach allows for mixed emotional states in which we can experience a range of emotions simultaneously - such as, joy and sorrow or, joy and stress. There is room for us to hold more than one emotion at a time. Expanding upon that, author Tracy Kidder takes it a step further when reflecting on Dr. Jim O’Connell’s work with the underserved by saying that more difficult emotions in meaningful work lend themselves to a more joyful state: "Joy…partakes of difficulties, sadness, and sorrow.”  

It also allows for the concept that something being difficult can also be incredibly rewarding. Recently, I talked with a friend, colleague, and former coachee who said she absolutely loved her new leadership role even though it’s one of the most challenging things she’s done.  

Although pleasurable emotional states or moments of joy may be shorter, focusing attention on those moments can influence both our intermediate mood and our longer-term dispositional affect.  

There are several things that get in the way of joy. One stands out as a common detractor/distractor of joy, that in particular we as physicians face. For the most part, we are goal-oriented, task-driven individuals. This can be a wonderful thing. However, we often delay gratification and tolerate many difficult circumstances to make it through the process and to arrive at each goal. 

And this is how the arrival fallacy grows strong. We keep moving the goal post. In addition, our expectations are often unmet at each stage. It starts with the MCAT, rigorous undergraduate courses, and extracurricular activities to be accepted into medical school. We then trudge through med school and finally become doctors. And then, residency training feels different and more difficult than we imagined. We hustle and endure training – finally, we become attendings. Somehow, it still isn’t what we pictured. Often, when life unfolds in this manner, we can feel disillusioned. 

So, what is one to do? Let’s work together over the next few weeks to find and create joy in journey.  

Have a Joy-filled week! Tonya 

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Original post 5/2022, updated 3/2024