Does this sound familiar?
“Anyone looking in would think I had it all. I had a busy pancreatic and general surgery practice. I was a successful academic surgeon, checking off all the correct boxes. At one time, I was on fire…I was engaged and loved what I did every day. But I could no longer remember why I wanted to be a surgeon. I was unfulfilled and exhausted, both emotionally and physically. Instead of enjoying the “success” I achieved, I felt just the opposite – I felt like I was a bad surgeon, investigator, mentor, teacher, wife, triathlete – because I didn’t have time to do any of those things well. I felt trapped by the lifestyle medicine provided. I lost all of my fire and I was dangerously burned out. Coming to work was an effort. I simply had nothing left to give. Instead of wanting to help people (the reason we all go into medicine on some level), I had withdrawn from people…What if I told you there was a solution?”
When was the last time you were on fire?
In order to burnout, you had to have been on fire …When was the last time you were on fire? When was the last time you loved coming to work and were passionate about your job and life? For some of you, that may be right now… and for others, you may not be able to remember the last time. As we grow and change throughout our lives and career and our situation and environments change, our priorities shift as well. To maintain that fire, we need to learn to change with those priorities and make conscious choices.