Here’s what we got for y’all this week:
How Champions Think by Dr. Bob Rotella
Articles to Ponder
Fishing Videos
Striving to be exceptional is never easy. But when people tell me that what I’m suggesting they do won’t be easy, I just say, ‘You’re right!’ Going after big ideas takes sweat. It takes persistence, patience, and a bedrock belief in yourself. Not everyone will do it. That’s why we call it being exceptional (How Champions Think).
As doctors, we have achieved a lot of success at a very high level. And, we are tasked to continue to achieve at that same level day in and day out, patient to patient.
At times, this can be taxing and draining on the mind, body, and soul. In his book, How Champions Think, Dr. Rotella, discusses the tips and techniques that he uses with his professional athletes to keep them competing at the highest level, every single day. Tips and techniques that I think translate into the medical profession and can be used by physicians both in practice and at home to combat the effects of burnout and moral injury.
He starts the book by describing what it takes to be exceptional - exceptional at your craft, your job, as well as, your personal life. He states that it takes a certain set of attributes and attitudes, such as optimism, confidence, persistence, and strong will, to separate you from the rest of the crowd.
As physicians, we have already separated ourselves from the crowd, but in these trying times of increased burnout and moral injury, we need to revisit these attitudes and attributes in order to overcome the adversity that challenges ourselves and our practices every day.
These aforementioned attributes and attitudes enable us to work harder and smarter, to overcome the obstacles and stay focused to get the best outcome we can for our patients and ourselves. Because, if we are not taking care of ourselves, ultimately, we will have difficulty taking care of our families and our patients.
Another part the of the book that stuck with me was his “train it and trust it” philosophy.
Learn the skill thoroughly, so it’s ingrained in your subconscious. Then, at the moment of performance, don’t think about it. Trust that your subconscious brain will do its job.’ But the trusting won’t work if the training hasn’t happened (How Champions Think).
We have all endured residency and the grueling training that this entails. We train and train so that the process becomes part of our subconscious and we are able to do the job, as one attending used to say to me, without the thoughts/actions ever reaching the brain - they just come straight off the spinal cord.
I believe that one of the problems with burnout has to due with the fact that we had built in reward systems with during that “train and trust” process - little hits of dopamine that gave use the fuel to continue down the path to becoming an attending. Let’s face it, we are all used to achieving at a hight level and there were a lot of rewards that came with those achievements.
However, once the “train and trust” process ended and we were cast out into society to be attendings, the ahievements and rewards dwindled into administrative hassles, insurance set backs, and other unforseen complications/headaches that plague the medical profession. As I tell my students, “get used to it - there are no high-fives in medicine.”
We are all looking for something to relieve of us of these burdens. But its on us to keep the enthusiasm of being a doctor alive. I, for one, loved the process of becoming a physician. Yes, medical school was stressful and residency was grueling, but it was the process of learning, helping, teaching that i enjoyed the most.
Now, as an attending, I have to create my own reward system and maintain that enthusiasm all while maintaining an exceptional level of expertise as an ER doctor so that I can cotinue to show up as my best self for my family, friends, and patients.
How are you maintaing your enthusiasm while being exceptional as a physician and family member? Do you have the mindset of and think like a champion? Share in the comments.
People who go for greatness are going to get knocked down a lot. They’ll have difficult times. They’ll struggle with doubt and uncertainty. People around them will question the wisdom of their quest. The issue is not whether you’ll fail, because you will. It’s whether you’ll get back up and keep going. It’s whether you can sustain your self-confidence and your belief in yourself and keep bouncing back. Failure is only final when you stop striving (How Champions Think).
Reel Docx FB Posts Coming in Hot
Check out other Reel Docx posts here in the FB group!!
Every week more and more doctors from all different specialties and disciplines are sharing their wins on the water. Join other Reel Docx - and share your wins with the group!!
Here is a list of guides and lodges by state that we were putting together on the Reel Docx FB Page
Reel Docx Pics:
Wild Med - Live | Learn | Explore
Check out New and Upcoming Trips at Wild Med Adventures
I have been on the Montana Fly Fishing trip 3 years. Check out this article here:
I have made more connections and had more fun on these trips than I have ever had at large national conference.
If you want to be more than a number at a large conference; if you want to create life-long relationships; if you enjoy the outdoors; if you need CME - then I encourage you to sign up for a trip.
Connect with Healthcare Professionals who share your same passions
Take your next Wild Med Adventures - Wild Med Adventure Calendar
Every week more and more doctors from all different specialties and disciplines are sharing their adventures. Join other doctors - and share your adventures with the group!!
Dr. Corriel of SoMeDOCS shares her Halibut Recipe on Reel Docx
Check out her FB group here
FLIP THE SCRIPT ON BURNOUT
There are a lot of articles being published about physician burnout, moral injury, work-life balance, work engagement, and work-life integration.
The purpose of the Outdoor Rounds Newsletter is to keep that discussion going by focusing on actionable steps that we, as healthcare professionals, can take to maintain a healthy mind, body, and spirit that enables us to show up for our patients, families, and, most importantly, OURSELVES.
Articles:
What if wellness experts spared overworked physicians from their next PowerPoint presentation and instead asked them to come up with their own language to capture their experiences and feelings?
Jay Baruch, MD
YouTube Fishing Videos
FALL MULLET RUN IN FLORIDA
Its that time of year when the mullet migration begins and all the big predators chase these tasty morsels up and down the East Coast of Florida.
For the Fly Fisherman in the Group:
For the Bass Fisherman in the Group:
Start Your Heroic Journey
I want to share this with you because it is my mission with Outdoor Rounds to encourage each and every one of you to take a time out for yourselves away from medicine and release your worries, relax your minds, and recharge your souls.
Medicine is a grind - listening to people’s problems all day long and dealing with all of the other administrative headaches takes a toll on the entire doctor - physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
I wouldn’t share this with you if I didn’t think that Heroic could change your life in the areas of energy, work, and love and give you the ability to flip the script on burnout and enable your to live the heroic lives as doctors that you are meant to live.
I’m committed to living a life filled with meaning and being my best in service to my family, friends, and patients.
If you want to learn more about how to optimize your life in the areas of energy, work, and love and you need a program to guide you on that path, then I highly recommend that you check out what Brian Johnson is building at Heroic.
Think of Heroic as a modern day Plato’s Academy that distills more wisdom in less time focusing on the heroic virtues of courage, wisdom, hope, love, zest etc.
Brian’s lessons and notes are thorough and thought provoking and give you a baseline from which you can build your own daily routines and habits that will help you to optimize your life.
I have been working through the coaching program over the past 5 months, and I can say, hands down, that this is the best program out there if you want to transform your life and the life of those around you.
If you are interested in learning how to create better habits in order to flip the script on burnout and optimize your energy so that you can show up better at work for your patients and at home for your family, then I highly recommend that you check out Heroic.
If you want to learn more about the Coach program, then click here.
For a 30-Day Free Trial of the Premium version, which will give you access to the entire platform, then click here.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
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Check out the SWAG - Release, Relax, and Recharge with the new designs for 2023.
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