Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections
Lessons, lightbulb moments, and honest reflections from life inside and outside medicine - served with a side of perspective.
Tags: physician
Showing 3 results:
Two Kinds of Motivation
I had the chance to host Dr Tyra Fainstad (University of Colorado, Better Together Coaching Founder) for a group coaching session on mindset, and she opened with Self-Determination Theory (SDT).
I've loved the topic of SDT since hearing Dr Richard Ryan speak at the IOC Coaching in Leadership and ...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Apr 23, 2026
autonomy
awareness
behavior
burnout
capability
choice
clarity
coaching
cognition
competence
connection
development
educaiton
emotions
engagement
extrinsic
focus
growth
habits
innercritic
intrinsic
introjects
leadership
learning
medicine
mindset
motivation
performance
physician
psychology
purpose
reflection
relatedness
resilience
self-determination
thinking
values
wellbeing
What the Critic Taught Me
I was talking with a physician recently who started his own practice.
Someone had asked about him in a local Facebook group. There were about thirty responses. Not just “he’s good,” but detailed, generous paragraphs about his skill, empathy, time, and care.
And then one line:
“My mom saw him and ...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Apr 23, 2026
adaptability
attention
awareness
beliefs
boundaries
burnout
coaching
comparison
confidence
criticism
delegation
development
emotions
empathy
feeback
focus
grace
growth
identity
improvement
interpretation
leadership
learning
medicine
mentorship
mindset
narrative
perspective
physician
practice
purpose
reflection
reputation
resilience
reviews
selfworth
trigger
validation
values
wellbeing
Back to Now: When the Clock Stops Judging You
A physician I was coaching recently brought this to a session:
“I’m always running late in clinic.”
If you work in medicine in this day and age, you know that reality.
But as we slowed it down, she noticed something important:
‘Late’ has judgment.
The actual data?
She walked into the room at 10:3...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Mar 27, 2026
acceptance
attention
awareness
balance
calm
clarity
coaching
compassion
data
decision making
efficiency
effort
emotion
focus
healthcare
insight
judgment
medicine
mental health
midnfulness
observation
organization
overwhelm
patient care
perception
performance
perspective
physician
presence
prioritization
process
productivity
reflection
reslience
self-awareness
self-compassion
stress
surgeon
thoughts
wellbeing
workflow
Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections