We are in a series on finding and cultivating joy in the journey of medicine and avoiding the arrival fallacy. This week are on to the next approach: Perspective. I lump several strategies under this category - gratefulness, practical positive cognitive psychology, growth mindset, and self-compassion. 

I, along with many others, have written, taught, and coached on all these topics, so I suspect they are not new to you. However, let’s harness these approaches to find...

This week we conclude the guide to optimizing our mindsets as physicians by discussing three common roadblocks and how to work through them. But first, I’d like to review the steps briefly:

1. Brain Dump - We must be aware of what is happening in our minds.
2. Thought vs. Fact - Boil situations down to bare facts (by removing adjectives, loaded words, assumptions, and judgments) and the story we have about them.
3. Automatic Thought Model - Use the framework to see what your...

This week, we are continuing to focus on common tendencies that hinder our ability to best navigate the demands on our time, energy, and attention. Last week we covered people-pleasing and exaggerated reputation management. This week we will unpack self-judgment and the procrastination habit.

Most of us have such unrealistic expectations for ourselves, that we regularly subconsciously wallow in self-judgment. When asked to take on a project or task we’d prefer to decline, some of...