27. “I Can’t Be Happy Unless I Leave Clinical Medicine”

Oct 20

How you can find contentment today:

Finding a belief that creates contentment
What is the thought that’s making you content?
Hold onto that thought, feel, see, and experience it, then learn how to create that feeling whenever you need it.

Feeling like you can’t (or won’t) feel happy unless you leave clinical medicine is a feeling I’m familiar with - and one I know you might be, as well. In this episode, I’m talking about why this isn’t true and how I eventually overcame this belief by changing my thought pattern.

Listen to Episode 27 Here

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The Chief Complaint: “I Can’t Be Happy Unless I Leave Clinical Medicine”

I know this chief complaint all too well and way too personally. Before I discovered coaching and how to change my thought model, I was chasing happiness by changing my career.

But when I learned the truth about the root of happiness and contentment, I finally found those positive emotions I’d been chasing for years.

Chasing Happiness Through Change

I went from clinical medicine to private practice, back into medicine, and so many other iterations of my career. I always believed that if I could just get a career I liked and felt good in, I would find that happiness I’d been chasing.

Unfortunately, with every career move I made, whether I left with 9 months or 90 days' notice, I wasn’t any closer to feeling that happiness I was on the search for.

In fact, I was maybe even sadder since I made these career moves and I didn’t feel automatically happier. I know - I was as shocked as you are.

Learning to Alter Your Thought Model

It was only when I started learning about thought models and changing my thoughts that I understood why this was happening. I didn’t have to change the circumstances in order to be happy, I had to change the way I thought about the situation.

Yes, you might find it a bit uncomfortable at first. You’ve held onto these beliefs that it was your external circumstances that created your happiness for years, maybe since you were born. But trust me when I say, going through the process and learning to change your thought patterns is crucial to long-term happiness.

When I started changing my thought patterns, my whole world opened up to the possibilities surrounding me. It was like a door opened that I didn’t even realize was closed; all of a sudden it felt like this fog of sadness lifted and I could see what was missing in my life.

Once you understand what it feels like to feel happy and content, you can actually start cultivating this in your life. You can choose when and how you feel happy. And it all starts with changing your thought model.

Homework for Women Physicians

Are you willing to find contentment today? What steps will you take to change your thought model instead of your circumstances? Let me know in the comments below!

In This Episode

Why you need to change your thought model, not just the circumstances [8:30]
What can happen when you find happiness in your life by learning to change your thought patterns [14:45]
Why you might experience discomfort when you change your thoughts and your circumstances [15:40]
How you can actually find some kind of happiness right now [17:00]

Quotes

“Here’s the thing. I switched clinical positions for a different schedule, but the truth is that we will always find reasons why we can’t be happy. Just by switching the circumstance alone, that will never, ever improve everything.” [6:28]

“It was a lot of work and while I was learning a lot, what I hadn’t learned yet was that it’s not about changing the circumstance. It’s all about, ‘how am I going to change my thoughts first, so that I can have great clarity, and then I can proceed forward with what I really want to do.’” [11:29]

“While you may choose to leave your current situation, the first step is that conversation with yourself saying that you can find content from within. How are you going to do that?” [18:32]