Latest / Lean Out Podcast / Solocast: A Dream That Made Me Question My Path
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome to the lean out podcast.
- 0:02I'm your host, Dr.
- 0:04Don baker.
- 0:05Are you looking for a new approach to authentic and sustainable work-life balance?
- 0:10You've come to the right place.
- 0:12Listen as i interview amazing women professionals who've taken steps to lean out and find balance on their own terms Hello?
- 0:22Hello.
- 0:22Thanks for being here.
- 0:23Today, I'm going to tell you about a dream that I had that made me question my path to leaning out.
- 0:30But first, I want to remind you to go to my website, practice balance.com and subscribe to my newsletter.
- 0:38About once a week, maybe once every other week you'll get an email for me that has some inspirational articles, places that you can find me having conversations.
- 0:51Other than on my own.
- 0:54Website and on my own podcast, links to articles.
- 0:58Podcasts books that I've found inspiring.
- 1:01And of course.
- 1:03Lots of photos from my off-grid homestead in the mountains that we'll hopefully.
- 1:10Give you some inspiration and some beauty.
- 1:14During the fall months.
- 1:17So last night I had this dream.
- 1:20I was attending a conference with some of my other doctor blogger, coach, entrepreneur, friends.
- 1:26And the scene turned into my classic anxiety dream.
- 1:31I'm sure you can relate to this.
- 1:33I had to be somewhere.
- 1:34I had to meet some people.
- 1:35I don't remember the details, but I just couldn't make it there.
- 1:39Something kept holding me back.
- 1:42I lost my hotel room key.
- 1:44Then I needed to go to the bathroom.
- 1:46The cycle went on and on, and my friends were moving on without me.
- 1:51By far in a way, this is the most common, bad dream that I have.
- 1:55I need.
- 1:55To be somewhere and get something, but I'm unable to meet the task.
- 1:59Whenever I have a vivid dream like this, I think back to what was going on the night before, what was I recently doing or reading or watching that could have brought this dream on?
- 2:11Or maybe even just talking about with my family or my husband or a friend.
- 2:15And it turns out that right before I went to sleep, I happened to be scrolling social media.
- 2:20I know, I know this is a very bad practice.
- 2:23For many reasons.
- 2:24Yet.
- 2:25It's also one that sometimes I fall into from time to time, because I don't get around to checking my social media until the day is done.
- 2:31I don't love checking my social media.
- 2:34Except I do really like posting pictures of my property of pretty things that I see of inspiring things and trying to write something inspiring for people.
- 2:46And as an aside, whoever made up the rule that you need to.
- 2:51Be checking social media every day and engaging every day as an online business owner.
- 2:56I don't know where that came from, but I really don't like it.
- 3:01Anyway, I happened to see some photos and recaps of a recent conference that was attended by members of said, doctor crowd.
- 3:09And the conference was all about generating passive income with the premise that doctors should be finding avenues to make more money and build wealth.
- 3:18And I am not against this concept at all.
- 3:20I understand that our profession comes with a high debt burden and the hours of effort put into clinical work.
- 3:26Don't always match up to the practice salaries that are offered to us.
- 3:31Physicians suffering from burnout and a general feeling of stuckness often look to nonclinical means for making money so that they can make improvements to their work-life balance, like cutting back on clinical hours.
- 3:45But do they ever really find balance or do they just replace one type of job for another.
- 3:53Sometimes the answer is to take things away and not add for improved work life balance.
- 4:00What is enough in terms of achievements?
- 4:02And in terms of money.
- 4:05A few years ago, I was inspired by this same exact community to do more in a business sense with my long standing blog practice balance.
- 4:14I co-authored a book chapter with some other doctors.
- 4:17I went on people's podcasts and talked about my writing and I started doing speaking gigs.
- 4:23But I never really sold anything or pursued sponsorships other than doing the occasional Amazon affiliate link.
- 4:31Because I received several inquiries at a conference that I spoke at.
- 4:35I got involved with coaching, which I absolutely love doing.
- 4:39And I'm really grateful for all the connections that I've made.
- 4:42And the inspiration that I've received from this group of people.
- 4:47Creativity expert chase Jarvis argued on a podcast that I recently heard that promotion.
- 4:54Is part of the cycle of putting out creative work into the world.
- 4:58But my aim has never been to generate a substantial amount of revenue with my creations or with real estate or with any other type of business venture.
- 5:09Am I missing out by not jumping on the bandwagon of passive wealth building, whatever passive actually means.
- 5:16After a lot of inner work.
- 5:18I know myself well, and I have a clear vision of the kind of life I'm designing, but as evidenced by the fact that I had this dream.
- 5:26I think I'm subconsciously wondering.
- 5:29In contrast to this stream my day.
- 5:33Consisted of working with my daughter on her.
- 5:36Homeschooling lessons.
- 5:38Driving to our nearby town for her jujitsu practice and then meeting a group of moms, some with other kids in tow, at a house.
- 5:46Of another local homeschool mom.
- 5:49This woman's entire garage has been converted into a bouldering cave.
- 5:53The three walls and the ceiling are all peppered with climbing, holds of shapes, colors, and sizes in a vast variety.
- 6:01And the floor consists of one thick gymnastics mat.
- 6:05She opens the garage door and everyone comes and goes in an afternoon free for all.
- 6:10It's super fun.
- 6:11We do this every week and I look forward to it every time.
- 6:15Since my family left salt lake city and that vibrant climbing scene.
- 6:20I've missed having a close knit climbing community, and this fills that void.
- 6:24And then some.
- 6:25We take turns, trying hard chatting and spotting each other on the problems.
- 6:31We discuss everything from climbing moves to other fitness pursuits to our kids and our families and things that are going on there.
- 6:41Last week I missed the session because I was traveling for my monthly clinical work assignment out of town.
- 6:47But no one in the group asked about that.
- 6:49They just don't care.
- 6:51In this group.
- 6:51I am just another mom.
- 6:53I'm not a doctor.
- 6:54I'm not a work-life balance expert.
- 6:56Not a wealth builder or a business owner.
- 6:59And so here I am.
- 7:01Each foot in two different worlds.
- 7:04It can be uncomfortable sometimes, but I know that I can handle it and I have no regrets about the life I've chosen.
- 7:13Sometimes I think of phasing out my presence in the physician wellness space, because I don't really fit in with the in-crowd.
- 7:20But I continue to share on my own timetable and in my own way.
- 7:25Because I really do enjoy creating and teaching and inspiring other professionals to find and follow whatever unique vision they have for their own work-life balance.
- 7:35Despite, whatever other people around them are doing.
- 7:38And this way, the dream solidifies that I'm on the path that I'm meant to be on.
- 7:44It's hard to go against what other colleagues and friends are doing, whether it's working less, doing less, making less, or just being recognized less.
- 7:53So what are the keys to forging forward?
- 7:56And embracing your own journey.
- 7:59Well, the first thing is self knowledge, knowing your values, your why having conviction and knowing what you want.
- 8:07The second is self-awareness examining the rules.
- 8:09You're following the thoughts that you have that may not be aligning with that path and tackling, limiting beliefs.
- 8:16Head on.
- 8:18And the third is challenging yourself to spend more time in stillness.
- 8:22Try and adopt different mindfulness techniques that work for you and let the clarity develop as you continue this practice.
- 8:30It really does take confidence and conviction to lean out.
- 8:34And while these things can be cultivated, they must constantly be practiced.
- 8:40My questions for you today in partying.
- 8:42Are, do you ever feel like that you spend time in two different worlds?
- 8:48How do you feel about this?
- 8:50And how do you go about building your confidence Thanks for listening to the lean out podcast.
- 8:57If you find these conversations inspiring and useful, please forward them to a friend and also leave a review on iTunes or Spotify so that other people can find them easier.
- 9:10If you want to get in touch with me, you can find me at my website, practice balanced.com, where you can subscribe to my newsletter and get updates regularly about new podcast episodes, blog posts, speaking, engagements, and coaching services.
- 9:26You can also support my work by buying my book, lean out a professional woman's guide to finding authentic work-life balance for yourself, a friend, family member, or coworker.
- 9:38Have a great day and we'll see you next time