A powerful tool to use in improving your day-to-day experience is your own mind. Last week we discussed the first step of optimization - writing and reflecting on your thoughts. This week we will use that download to move on to step 2.

By default, we believe our thoughts to be true. However, physicians, like most humans, have imperfect brains. Our thoughts, the sentences in our heads that our minds automatically produce, are colored by our experiences, the beliefs we grew up with, our...

It's the beginning of the new academic year in medicine. So, I thought this was the perfect time to write a blog series about a fundamental strategy of coaching – optimizing the mindset. Over the next few weeks, I will walk you through one method I use with those I coach.

Mindset is a mental inclination, a way of thinking. It's essentially the lens through which you view things, a frame of mind. It's also one of the best places to focus effort as it can improve how you...

We are in a series exploring the three foundational needs for physicians to optimize their psychological fitness – autonomy, connectedness, and competence. This week, we will reflect on time, the first of four domains within autonomy for physicians - Time, Tasks, Team, and Techniques. I'll also highlight a fifth "T" – Thoughts/Mindset within each facet as we unpack them.

Time. There is great variety in the amount of autonomy given to physicians. Many residents and employed...

This week we take our changes and transitions one step further…to transformation.  The words Change, Transition, and Transformation are often interchanged, but I offer a different take for the purposes of this blog.  Let's think of change relating to something we do (actions we take) or circumstances (ones we changed intentionally or ones we didn't choose). Think of transitions as how we adapt our thinking to better support the change, also known as reframing. Transformation...

2 weeks ago, we discussed procrastination and knowing if you are ready to change the pattern. Last week, we looked at how fear and perfectionism play into the cycle of procrastination.

This week we will talk about the 4 other feelings that lead to procrastination - Confusion, and Indecision, which are close cousins, Self-Doubt, and Overwhelm.  Those 4 feelings, like fear, are preceded by thoughts that cause them.  Our thoughts create our feelings which in turn...

Last week we discussed procrastination and knowing if you are ready to change the pattern. 

This week and next, we will take a look at common themes driving procrastination. 

For many physicians, a pervasive one is unhealthy perfectionism.  When we strive for a perceived external bar beyond realistic human competence, it triggers a cascade. When we think things like, "This has to be perfect," it can lead to an emotion of pressure which will lead to wanting to...