What Will You Trim Out of Your Life for New Growth to Sprout?
Practicing medicine as a conscious physician
Are you ok being on someone else’s To-Do List? Then you might want to stop saying “Yes” to all the projects. As a Conscious Physician coach, my doctor colleagues ask me for methods to improve their energy level at work and at home.
First, we talk about this: work and home are not separate. If the individual is balanced, everything in their life is balanced. When I get to the bottom of it, we realize they’re signing up for way too many projects at work. They’re exhausted. They bring their exhaustion home. They continually say “Yes” to everything out of compassion, out of not Consciously making decisions. Without making Conscious decisions which serve their purpose, they become a checkbox on someone else’s To-Do List. They’re no longer in control. They’re wasting their energy.
Trim to live a more energetic life
I used to be involved with projects up to my eyeballs throughout my residency training. I stopped everything. I cleaned the slate. I contemplated my purpose. I took a lot of time to do this. It took months.
It was a personal journey.
It was the best decision.
My purpose became clear, my actions followed. Every step toward my purpose was Conscious. I’m now a Physician Leader at my organization, and I only endorse projects to serve my purpose. My purpose is to implement systems to serve our physicians.
Every project I implement with my team is to ensure the efficiency of practice. This makes for happier doctors and happier patients. I trimmed, so my main stem could grow sprouts to serve my purpose of helping others.
Here’s a challenge for you: make a list of your projects you’re involved in. Drop the one you know doesn’t add to your purpose. You can repeat this over time. Note how it adds energy back into what matters to you.
Get rid of all the extras in your life, whatever they may be. Give them away as soon as you decide they don’t serve you. If you resonate with this, check out Essentialism by Greg McKeown. He goes into detail about what it means to be an essentialist. Stephen King says, “To write is human. To edit is divine.”
I continually work to live an edited life, and I’m much happier.
Inner balance
Through my own burnout, I realized my number one priority is my Inner Balance. I paid a lot of attention to it. My life is a constant reflection of what makes me perform at my highest, what triggers me, what gives me meaning, what connects me with my awareness.
I’m only able to give when I’m balanced.
When I’m balanced my family is balanced. The energy we feel inside emanates into our outer world. The source of all happiness and chaos is right here within us.
No one else is responsible for it.
One of the most important and hardest lessons for me was to realize I needed to trim a lot of people out of my life. My Incredible Partner was very supportive. I trimmed those who were leaching energy from me. I felt tired after being with them.
I trimmed them out of my life over time.
Are there people who uplift you even after a few minutes of hanging out? I keep them around. They feed my mainstem and help me grow new and beautiful sprouts.
Get rid of your possessions you haven’t used in the past year. I get rid of my clothes and other belongings almost every month. If I haven’t used something within the past year, I donate it. Someone else might find it useful. Tidying up decreases chaos in our outer world. Hence, increasing the energy available to you within.
Here’s a challenge. Go through one drawer in your kitchen or your closet and Consciously look at each item. Do you really need every single item?
Tidy it up. Donate what you don’t need. This tiny step may become a habit over time you can apply to your life.
As we become more Conscious, our lives become more edited, more meaningful. We gain more energy for our work within. We stop wasting our precious time and energy on outer things that don’t serve us. We give energy to our purpose, therefore living a more fulfilling life.
This is the way of a Conscious Physician.
If my philosophy resonates with you, you can reach me at lidafatemi@consciousphysician.org. We all have a unique journey and we learn from each other. It would be a privilege to be a part of yours.
