Focus on Physicians:
Insights, Ideas, and Strategies
Connecting With Your Inner Wisdom: A Journaling Guide for Physicians
If you’re a physician, journaling is a wonderful way to access your own thoughts and values, getting in touch with what matters most to you. It’s a form of mindfulness that doesn’t require any skills or knowledge. All you need is a pen and paper and as few as five minutes.
This article is the first in a three-part series. In each one, I’ll share a different collection of journaling prompts designed to help you to connect your own dots and rediscover what truly matters to you. Whether you’re exploring a new professional path, planning for retirement, or seeking greater happiness and satisfaction in your life, these prompts will guide you towards clarity and self-awareness.
An earlier version of this article appeared on this website in January, 2025
With countless demands on your time and attention, it’s easy to ignore your own well-being as you slingshot from one task to the next. After a few months, years, or maybe even decades of living this way, it can be difficult to find your way back to your true self.
I recognize that feeling. During my years in cardiology, I had hobbies, friends, and an active life, but much of it still felt frantic. As I began considering what might come next, I realized how rarely I gave myself time to reflect. Journaling offered a place to begin.
I had tried journaling before, but the habit never stuck for long. The empty pages felt daunting, and I didn’t want another task on my list. So this time, I kept it simple: just 10 minutes a day to sit with my thoughts and put them on paper.
The Power of Journaling: A Path Back to Your True Self
Every evening I would pose questions to myself, trying to unravel the knots that I had tied over the years, until I rediscovered the threads that could lead me to my next steps. And remarkably, the process worked! Through introspection and time, I developed a set of goals and a sequence of tiny little steps that got me farther than I ever could have imagined.
This article is the first in a three-part series. In each one, I’ll share a different collection of journaling prompts designed to help you to connect your own dots and rediscover what truly matters to you. Whether you’re exploring a new professional path, planning for retirement, or seeking greater happiness and satisfaction in your life, I hope these prompts will guide you towards clarity and self-awareness.
Getting Started with Journaling
Journaling is a wonderful way to access your own thoughts and values, getting in touch with what matters most to you. It’s a form of mindfulness that doesn’t require any skills or knowledge. All you need is a pen and paper and as few as five minutes.
Why do I say pen and paper, and not a keyboard? Because research has convincingly shown that writing by hand is far more activating for the brain than typing. Newer devices that save and transcribe handwriting, like the reMarkable, may help to bridge the gap between analogue and tech. If writing doesn’t come easily, you could also experiment with dictation. Most important is that you find something that works for you and feels comfortable and natural.
Journaling to Uncover Your Next Steps
This series of prompts will help you to reflect on your values and your sense of purpose, realigning the trajectory your life into something that feels resonant and clear.
For a kick start, if you haven’t already completed the Values Workbook, this is a great time to begin that exercise. You can get your free copy through my website.
You don’t need to respond to every prompt. There’s a lot to ponder here! Perhaps choose one or two for the week and see where it takes you.
Exploring Your Values
What do I value most about my role as a physician? Are these values reflected in my daily work and life? If not, what changes would need to happen in order for my values to be aligned with my work?
If I could describe the legacy I want to leave in one sentence, what would it be? How do I want people to remember me?
When have I felt most fulfilled in my career? What about those moments made them meaningful?
Clarifying Your Purpose
Why did I choose to become a physician? Does that "why" still resonate with me today? If it has changed, does it still feel true? And if not, what is missing?
What parts of my work energize me the most? How can I focus more on these aspects?
How does my work align with my personal definition of success? Where am I now in relation to that definition?
Evaluating Your Current Path
If my current career trajectory continued for the next 10 years, would I feel proud and content with my life?
What sacrifices am I making to sustain my current career path, and are they worth it?
Are there aspects of my personal life or passions that I’ve neglected? How can I reintegrate them?
Imagining the Future
If I could design my ideal work-life balance, what would it look like? What small steps could I take to get closer to that vision? What could I do today that would start to change things?
Imagine a day in your dream life. What are you doing, who are you with, and how do you feel?
What skills or interests do I have that I’m not currently using in my career? How might I incorporate them? And what skills do I wish I had? Are they important enough that I want to explore how to acquire them?
Confronting Barriers
What fears or doubts are holding me back from making a change I know I need? Are these fears grounded in reality? If so, is there something within my power to change?
Who or what am I afraid of disappointing if I follow my heart? How might I address that fear?
What is the worst that could happen if I pursued a career change or took on a new role? What strategies could I take to mitigate that? Are there other opportunities that outcome might open up for me?
Building Resilience and Courage
When have I faced significant challenges and grown from them? What strengths did I discover?
What does courage look like for me right now? How can I embody it in my decisions?
Who in my life inspires me to live authentically? What lessons can I learn from them?
Finding Alignment
Are there moments in my work when I feel disconnected from my authentic self? How can I realign?
How do I want to feel at the end of each day? What changes would help me experience that feeling more often?
What small, actionable steps can I take this week to bring more meaning into my work and life?
Cultivating Gratitude and Joy
What aspects of my career am I most grateful for? How can I focus more on these positives?
When was the last time I felt joy in my personal or professional life? What contributed to that moment?
What can I do today to make space for more joy and connection in my life?
In the next article in this series, I’ll share prompts to guide your exploration of personal projects, family connections, and meaningful relationships. The final article of the series explores journaling to envision your future.
If these prompts have been useful, or if you have some of your own that you’d like to share, drop me a line! I’d love to hear from you.
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How to Find Your Creative Spark: A Guide for Physicians
As physicians, we learn to practice from an evidence-based standpoint, checking the data, keeping up with the literature, and following carefully researched guidelines. But as crucial to good patient care as this is, providing the best care requires the ability to go deeper, connecting a series of disparate dots, asking probing questions, and creating trust.
Having your own creative practice can stimulate this stronger connection by giving you tools and insights that come from a less rigid view of the world. And at the same time, creativity can be a refuge, offering an escape and a form of mindfulness that is often difficult to access in our precision-driven world.
An earlier version of this article appeared on this website in January, 2024
As physicians, we learn to practice from an evidence-based standpoint, checking the data, keeping up with the literature, and following carefully researched guidelines. But as crucial to good patient care as this is, providing the best care requires the ability to go deeper, connecting a series of disparate dots, asking probing questions, and creating trust.
Having your own creative practice can stimulate this stronger connection by giving you tools and insights that come from a less rigid view of the world. In fact, a British study found that people who engaged in creative activities at home were more likely to discover creative solutions to problems at work.
Creativity can also serve as a refuge, offering an escape and a form of mindfulness that is often difficult to access in our precision and productivity driven world. And sometimes it leads you farther than you ever imagined. For example, after retiring from clinical practice, I followed my passion for photography and the arts, eventually completing a BFA degree. I’m currently immersed in an MFA program, which has opened new doors for me that I never knew existed.
You don’t need to have special skills or innate talent to begin your creative practice. And you definitely don’t have to pursue higher education. It can be something that you do for yourself alone. But once you get started, you may find that your imagination awakens, opening your mind to new techniques and ideas that might never have occurred to you if not for this artistic exploration.
Here are some simple ways to inspire and nurture your inner artist:
Just Get Started
Getting started may sound simple, but overcoming inertia can be the hardest part. You don’t need a grand plan, a fancy camera, or a fully equipped studio. Just begin and set the wheels in motion. Your first step doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be taken. After that, the next steps often reveal themselves.
Embrace Imperfection
Check your perfectionism at the door. For people immersed in the creative arts, imperfection is not just accepted; it’s often celebrated. Express, explore, and learn. Give yourself the freedom to make mistakes and be messy. This is a crucial part of the creative journey, and it’s how new ideas are generated.
Inspiration Appears While You’re Working
Waiting for inspiration is like waiting for the perfect moment – it rarely comes when you're idle. To borrow a phrase from mindfulness meditation, creativity is about being in the now. As Picasso is famously quoted, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” The muse, that elusive spark of creativity, is not impressed by your aspirations. She finds you when you’re in the messy midst of creation.
Set Aside Time for Creativity
Schedule your creative time just like you would for any appointment. Whether it’s 30 minutes every evening or a few hours on Saturday afternoon, having a dedicated slot for creativity can open windows in your mind and give you room to explore. If time feels tight, commit to simply 10 minutes each week, and see where that takes you.
Explore Different Creative Avenues
Creativity means different things to different people. You might enjoy writing, while someone else might find solace in painting, dancing, or playing an instrument. Simply wandering around intentionally with your phone’s camera can be a form of creative play. If you have time, taking a weekend class in pottery or some other art form could be a fun place to start. If you’re not sure how to start, allow yourself to experiment with different forms of creative expression. You might be surprised by what resonates for you.
Join a Creative Community
There's something magical about being part of a community that shares your passion. Look for local art classes, writing groups, photography clubs, or online forums. Share your work, get feedback, and enjoy the collective creative energy. A community can offer support, inspiration, and a sense of belonging. And unlike your practice as a physician, no one will expect you to be perfect or have all the answers.
Pause, Reflect and Adjust
Every now and then, take a step back and reflect on your creative journey. Stay curious. What have you learned? What do you enjoy the most? Where has your creativity taken you? You might choose to keep a creative journal to celebrate your milestones, explore the unexpected detours, and maybe even recalibrate your goals.
Final Thoughts
Integrating creativity into your life isn’t just about producing something; it’s about the process, the joy, and the journey of self-discovery it brings. It can be a form of meditative practice, and an escape hatch from the rigidity of a schedule and a task list.
As a physician, you have a unique perspective of the world, shaped by your experiences and the people whose lives you’ve touched. Infusing this perspective into your creative endeavors can lead to something unexpected, tangible, and uniquely yours. By exploring your creativity without self-judgment, you may find that the insights you discover enrich and deepen your relationships with others, including your loved ones, patients, and colleagues.
If you’ve enjoyed this article and would like to stay in the loop for more insights on creating a sustainable, fulfilling, and happy life as a physician, sign up for my newsletter or reach out on my website. I’d love to hear from you.
And if you’d like to schedule a complimentary introductory meeting with me, click the link below.