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Solocast: What Really Makes a Happy Professional? · Lean Out Podcast

• 0:03
  Welcome to the lean out podcast.
• 0:05
  I'm your host, Dr.
• 0:06
  Don baker.
• 0:07
  Are you looking for a new approach to finding authentic and sustainable work-life balance?
• 0:12
  You've come to the right.
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  Place.
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  For inspiration.
• 0:14
  information.
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  and a community.
• 0:16
  community.
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  of like-minded.
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  Professionals.
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  Let's get to the show.
• 0:24
  Hello, hello.
• 0:25
  Thanks for being here.
• 0:27
  It's officially the holiday season, and what that means for Practice Balance is two things.
• 0:32
  Number one, I will take a little winter hiatus from publishing podcast episodes for the last few weeks of the year.
• 0:39
  But don't worry because I'll be back in 2027 with more inspiring interviews and thoughtful solo casts.
• 0:46
  Thanks again for your listenership and support.
• 0:50
  Number two has to do with coaching.
• 0:52
  If you've been struggling with burnout, with wanting to make a move or a transition to better work-life balance, now is the time to get some coaching.
• 1:00
  For the past few years, I've put my coaching services on sale for the months of November and December.
• 1:06
  If you sign on for coaching during these months, you'll get 20% off, which is essentially like getting one session for free.
• 1:13
  The link to my coaching page, practicebalance.com/coaching, is located in the show notes, and there you can read more about coaching and sign up for a free consultation.
• 1:25
  Today, I was inspired to talk about happiness, and this is after reading a recent op-med for Doximity.
• 1:32
  For non-medical listeners out there, Doximity is a medical news syndicate, and it also runs opinion pieces each week.
• 1:40
  This one was by Nicole Hite, and it's titled these Are the Habits of the Happiest Doctors.
• 1:47
  This title sung to me as I was scrolling through my emails because, of course, I'm interested in anything that makes us happier, and I've also always been interested in habit formation and optimization.
• 1:59
  In fact, one of the pillars of module three in my Lean Out Confidence course is about using everyday habits as a way to embrace challenge again, something that we forget after we're done jumping through the hoops of our training.
• 2:11
  In turn, this can increase your confidence.
• 2:14
  Remember that you can always check out my course at practicebalance.com/courses, and I have a special coupon code for podcast listeners which will be linked in the show notes for this episode.
• 2:26
  So in her article, Dr.
• 2:27
  Hite talks about how lasting happiness beyond the dopamine hits of achievement is elusive for doctors.
• 2:33
  And the first thing I wanna mention is that this, of course, applies to other high-octane professionals as well.
• 2:40
  When you're jumping through the hoops of training in your profession, it's easy to find some happiness in the accomplishment of the different goals that are set in front of you.
• 2:50
  But what happens after that?
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  I often have coaching clients say to me things like,"It's kind of a letdown now that I'm an attending.
• 2:58
  Is this all there is?" They're doing all the things they want to do on paper, but in reality, there's a lack, a lack of happiness and a lack of fulfillment.
• 3:08
  Let's first talk about what happiness really is.
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  I remember as a young woman trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, my mom would say to me,"I just want you to be happy." What does this even mean?
• 3:21
  Arthur Brooks is the author of Build the Life You Want and From Strength to Strength, among other books.
• 3:27
  He says overall that we should look at happiness as a direction, not a destination.
• 3:33
  You know the classic,"I'll be happy when," is problematic, so this makes sense.
• 3:39
  Happiness then, like balance, is a continuous practice.
• 3:42
  I've also heard him call it,"the pursuit of happiness" instead of happiness.
• 3:48
  Brooks breaks happiness down into three macronutrients: enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning.
• 3:56
  He says these three things make up our happiness.
• 3:59
  But as far as external pillars of happiness go, he divides them into four categories: family, friendships, work, and faith.
• 4:07
  And all three macronutrients can be found in these different pillars.
• 4:12
  One thing that's important to point out about all this is that there's an inevitable presence of unhappiness we can't avoid.
• 4:19
  No one is happy all the time.
• 4:21
  Suffering and dissatisfaction are a natural part of life, hence the pursuit of happiness.
• 4:28
  So back to the Doximity article.
• 4:30
  Let's talk about the habits that Dr.
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  Hite outlined as demonstrated by the happiest doctors.
• 4:38
  Number one is they protect their time fiercely, and this includes alterations to both personal and work time.
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  Maybe they work part-time, but maybe they don't, and instead, they've learned how to protect certain important points during their day.
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  A quiet lunch hour, strict boundaries around the hours they spend in the portal, or maybe patient caps per day.
• 5:02
  Maybe these people are vocal to their family that they need a short time each day for exercise.
• 5:08
  The thing I often tell clients, and something we've discussed a couple of times with guests on this podcast, is that if you have a personal thing you want to get done each day, treat it like it's any other meeting and put it on the calendar so it doesn't get ignored or trampled upon So number two is they invest in their relationships.
• 5:28
  Strong relationships buffer us from stress, improve our health, and bolster our immune system.
• 5:34
  This is according to many studies, including the eighty-five-year-long Harvard Study of Adult Development, which is still going on.
• 5:41
  This is a huge study of people from all walks of life, and obviously it's an important finding because it crosses the lines of income or status.
• 5:51
  In her article, Dr.
• 5:52
  Hite points out an AAFP CompHealth Physician Happiness Survey as well that found that relationships were the single most important factor driving physicians' happiness.
• 6:02
  For many doctors, including me, I will admit, fostering relationships can be difficult because we're all really busy.
• 6:10
  But making a concerted effort to work some social interactions into your life can really enhance your happiness and your health.
• 6:17
  Making sure you're taking all your vacation time is one way to do this.
• 6:21
  Plan the trip.
• 6:23
  Also, I'll refer to the solocast I did a while back where I talk about why you need to go on retreats.
• 6:29
  I'll link that episode in the show notes The number three habit is they move their bodies.
• 6:37
  I like the way she titled this section because movement doesn't have to look like a certain thing.
• 6:43
  As high achievers, there's a tendency to be very all or nothing when it comes to exercise.
• 6:49
  You might say to yourself,"I don't have time for my long run, so I'm just not gonna go running." Or,"If I don't have an hour to lift weights at the gym, then what's the point?
• 6:57
  I'm not gonna do it at all." Happy physicians and professionals prioritize exercise such that it's a part of their lifestyle and not something that they do just as a punishment.
• 7:09
  But at the same time, it doesn't have to look perfect for you to benefit from it.
• 7:13
  I'm a huge champion of the twenty to thirty-minute yoga practice for this exact reason.
• 7:18
  It's hard to find time for a sixty or ninety-minute class of anything, but you can get some benefit even with short periods of exercise or what they call exercise snacks.
• 7:30
  Even just a dog walk, and don't forget to add it to your calendar as I just mentioned.
• 7:36
  Number four, they pursue something outside of medicine.
• 7:41
  I love this one because this is the premise of my whole podcast, showcasing professionals who are doing something unique with their work-life balance.
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  You don't have to be a one-trick pony to be good at what you do.
• 7:54
  Having something to do that's separate from your work gives you perspective and lets you redefine and expand your identities.
• 8:01
  Just the other day, we were watching a YouTube video of a couple living off-grid in Canada, and the woman had this amazing garden.
• 8:08
  Of course, we have an awesome geodesic dome greenhouse on our homestead as well that we spent a lot of time and money building, but I haven't quite gotten the hang of the gardening thing yet.
• 8:19
  In fact, I kind of suck at gardening.
• 8:21
  I don't think this is an inevitable thing though.
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  I just think I haven't learned enough and haven't spent enough time experimenting with it.
• 8:29
  I'm spending time doing other things currently, including practicing medicine.
• 8:33
  But my husband said to me,"If you retire from medicine, you could really get into this gardening stuff and have a beautiful space just like that lady on TV." Yes, this is true, and I may just need to get more into my gardening.
• 8:46
  Right now, though, I'm kind of leaning into becoming a pickleball star.
• 8:50
  If you know, you know.
• 8:52
  Okay, the last habit listed is number five: They let go of what doesn't serve them.
• 8:59
  There's a hidden curriculum in medicine that teaches us to be lone rangers.
• 9:03
  It's that culture of invulnerability and see one, do one, teach one, and then you're an expert, and if you aren't, then you're an idiot.
• 9:11
  That kind of mentality.
• 9:13
  Well, happy people realize they're human, and they have limits.
• 9:17
  Dr.
• 9:17
  Hite said in her article, and I love this quote,"The happiest physicians I know have given themselves permission to stop trying to do everything." Well said.
• 9:29
  She gives examples of outsourcing, but here's my take on it, and it ties into the Arthur Brooks framework of happiness I discussed earlier.
• 9:37
  Again, what we're doing is really the pursuit of happier-ness, the embracing of negative times and positive times.
• 9:44
  It's a constant process, just like work-life balance.
• 9:48
  We're always iterating, and we're never done.
• 9:51
  There's a time for high energy and a time for rest.
• 9:54
  Riding these waves will lead to greater happiness.
• 9:59
  I really liked the list presented in this article, but there's one more thing I would add to this list of habits that beget happiness.
• 10:06
  So my number six is they forge their own path.
• 10:11
  The happiest people I've met in my life as a physician, as a climber, as a mother, and all the other roles I've held are the people who are authentically themselves.
• 10:21
  They aren't afraid to ask for what they want, even if it's a sabbatical or a unusual work schedule that no one else is doing.
• 10:29
  They do things according to their values and don't bother worrying so much about what everyone else is doing.
• 10:36
  If you're a high-octane professional and you can cut through the hidden curricula and the culture of training that pushes us into very particular paths, then I guarantee you'll have an edge up on your happiness.
• 10:48
  If you want help figuring out your authentic balance or finding your way back to happiness, remember that I'm running my coaching sale during the months of November and December, and I'd love to help you.
• 11:00
  The link to sign up is in the show notes.
• 11:04
  What do you think of this list?
• 11:05
  What would you add or what would you change?
• 11:08
  Share your thoughts by sending me a fan mail through your podcast listening app, leaving a comment on the blog post associated with this episode at practicebalance.com, or sending me a DM on Instagram.
• 11:20
  I'm Practice Balance.
• 11:25
  Thanks for listening to the lean out podcast.
• 11:28
  If 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.
• 11:40
  If 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.
• 11:57
  You 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.
• 12:09
  Have a great day and we'll see you next time