In healthcare, we are always trying to be cautious, conservative, and critically think through every problem through every which way to lead us to the best possible outcome, whether that is for our patients or ourselves.
Sometimes, I wonder if this hyper-vigilance does not serve us and actually prevents us from pursuing contrast and different pastures.
Recently, I have been thinking a lot about the state of healthcare and how it’s so easy to feel scared of the thought of the breakdown of primary care or the state of the world at this time.
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However what if we are looking at everything all wrong? What if there are no monsters?
What I mean to say by this is that maybe the monsters that we perceive in our world, whether in the form of bad situations or people that may not be our cup of tea, are really there to challenge us and to be our biggest teachers.
Perhaps living life in a state of wonder and appreciating the contrast, even when it does not feel as luxurious as a café latte in the Eiffel Tower, we begin to understand and appreciate the true meaning of life.
"Maybe the monsters that we perceive in our world, whether in the form of bad situations or people that may not be our cup of tea, are really there to challenge us and to be our biggest teachers."
Every day holds with it so many micro moments of beauty and simplicity, but a 30 second unpleasant interaction completely convinces our mind of a different type of day.
So what if we could have the similar perspective about healthcare and not look at the EMR or the unlimited number of charts and patient messages as an hindrance but as an opportunity for growth and a marketplace for innovation?
It feels so easy to sit and groan about it all.
It almost feels like when we complain that we have stood up for ourselves and made ourselves heard but how does this really benefit us?
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Maybe if we took a minute to step back and reflect on our experiences and realize that it is a privilege that patients respect us enough to allow us to be a part of their decision-making process and maybe our inboxes are just begging for us to innovate and to come up with a solution that would not only help our inbox, but help all the healthcare inboxes.
Perhaps instead of burnout we should focus on what helps light a fire within us that makes us want to get up every morning.
"It almost feels like when we complain that we have stood up for ourselves and made ourselves heard but how does this really benefit us?"
What is it that makes you love your children so deeply that regardless of the lack of sleep or a life you still choose to love them unconditionally every day because it just comes all so naturally?
What if the rest of life could be this easy to tap into this evolutionary wisdom and if somehow the love for our children could extend to other parts of our world. In the midst of these daydreams?
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I remember that monsters are bigger in our minds and that there are no real monsters.
There are only opportunities, beckoning us to be the best version of ourselves, which unfortunately cannot come to be unless we have a higher calling that pushes us and begs us for more.
Perhaps this is why I feel that being a physician is a special calling.
Just like Viola Davis says in the movie, Eat Pray Love, that having a baby is like having a tattoo on your face, perhaps that is also what being a doctor feels like at times.
It is an identity that we must commit to that can overtake us if we let it.
However, we can choose to undergo a metamorphosis to create the best version of ourselves and to take the parts of medicine we love and to make the best of what we have instead of focusing on the monsters, that really only exist in our heads.
