Are you living the life you intended?

“I leave this life with no regrets. It was a wonderful life — full and complete with the great loves and great endeavors that make it worth living. I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended.” (Emphasis mine)

~Charles Krauthammer, medical doctor, Presidential speech writer, nationally syndicated columnist, quadriplegic, June 8, 2018; passed away on June 21, 2018.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

On this New Year, may you change your direction and not dates, change your commitments and not the calendar, change your attitude and not the actions, and bring about a change in your faith, your force, and your focus and not the fruit. May you live up to the promises you have made and may you create for you and your loved ones the happiest New Year Ever!

 

1. DECLARE WHAT YOU WANT AND NEED

Not “It would be nice” or “Someday, I’ll get around to it.” This declaration is a hell-bent-for-glory, not-taking-no- for-an-answer, get-out-of-my-way kind of declaration. This is the type of declaration that gets you off your back- side, on your feet, reading, learning, and acting. Declaring what you want is deciding what your future will be. And yes, this can and will be scary. Courage is defined not as acting without fear but acting in the face of fear. Be courageous. Think about a time when you were scared of doing something, you did it, and in retrospect, the imagined fear you had was three to five times worse than the actual doing. Imagine this for yourself now.

 

2. MANIFEST WHAT YOU WANT AND NEED

You have to love a word like “manifest” that is a noun, an adjective, and a verb. We are using the verb version of manifest: to make evident or certain by showing or displaying.

My personal definition of manifestation is bringing some- thing into being that wasn’t there before. You are creating a new reality and life for yourself. That is something that was not there before. You are bringing a new “you” into being. I am not trying to be melodramatic here, but nothing short of your conceptualizing this new “you” will bring about the changes you desire.

 

3. HOW TO CHANGE: LOVE YOURSELF

How do you believe in yourself and your ability to change? The quickest way I have found to believe in yourself and make changes is to love yourself. In Kamal Ravikant’s book, Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It, he details his process. Below is my interpretation of his work. The reason we need to relearn to love ourselves is that as physicians, we rarely think we are good enough and worthy of love, especially from ourselves.

As you think about your mental process for making change, think about going toward something you want, and not away from something you don’t want. Avoidance of badness is important and potentially lifesaving. But you are now not going to merely accept avoidance of badness. That would be like more resiliency training. I am calling BS on that. Let’s get you thinking and moving toward what you want and need and the new you! In defining your  “why,” focus on what you are moving toward will get your mental picture to match what you are creating. You are building a bridge to cross the chasm from here to your future self.

Do not perish regarding your vision!

 

Let’s move you towards a life of your intention by treating your burnout, and bringing your new ‘you’ into being.

 

Partner with your partners, groups, employers and hospital systems to champion physician wellness as a centerpiece of every decision. Live your life on purpose, on your purpose by design and intention.

~Jeff Moody, MD