There is a big difference between doing and being. For example, you can experience anger but not be an angry person. You can make a bad decision but not be a bad person. You can fail but not be a failure. When we make decisions and emotions mean something is wrong with us, personally, that those somehow define who we are, we only make it worse. And we make something personal that probably actually isn’t.Of course, I’m not suggesting we don’t take responsibility for our choices and our actions. But I am suggesting we maybe don’t personalize them so deeply. That we don’t assign meaning and character traits that aren't really there. When we don’t personalize things that aren’t personal, we eliminate the pile-on of more negative emotions, freeing us to examine ourselves, to grow and to change.“When you personalize it, you make it mean something more pervasive and more permanent about yourself… That’s gonna be so much worse. Right? That’s gonna be such a bigger deal, and have so many more repercussions for you.” – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnDifference between doing and beingAdjust your perceptionPile-on prevents growth and changeCatch yourself challengeContact Info and Recommended ResourcesPodcast Episodes that pair well with this one:Lessons Learned from Don Miguel Ruiz (The Four Agreements)How to Forgive YourselfConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachHave anything you’d like to hear me talk about on the podcast? Or have questions about working with me? Email me directly at sara@saradill.com, I personally read and respond to my own emails and would love to correspond with you.Website: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingGet a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

We live with agreements, whether we acknowledge them or not. There are sets of rules and expectations to which we adhere in order to satisfy the demands of others. We’ve learned to act in accordance with these agreements, to be liked or to fit in, to live, show up and interact with other people in an acceptable manner.In this episode, I discuss the existence of these agreements, specifically four agreements, as don Miguel Ruiz outlines in his short book, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book).I particularly like this book because it brings these societal and familial agreements into perspective so we can examine them – and ourselves – more closely. And I want to share with you some ideas and quotes from don Miguel’s book, as well as my own thoughts about the concepts.“If we don’t like our life, we need to change the agreements we have with ourselves and with others.” – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnTypes of agreementsBe impeccable with your wordKind and necessaryDon’t take things personallyTheir thoughts, feelings, experiencesPeople lie, so do youDon’t make assumptionsTell stories to ourselvesAsk questions, make requestsAlways do your bestShow up as yourselfContact Info and Recommended ResourcesBook: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) by don Miguel RuizPodcast Episodes that pair well with this one:Why Other People's Opinions Are None of Your BusinessUnwritten Rules That Keep Us StuckThought Work: The Most Important Work You Can Ever DoLessons Learned from Byron KatieAbout don Miguel Ruizdon Miguel Ruiz is a renowned spiritual teacher and internationally bestselling author of the “Toltec Wisdom Series,” including “The Four Agreements,” “The Mastery of Love,” “The Voice of Knowledge,” “The Four Agreements Companion Book,” “The Circle of Fire,” and “The Fifth Agreement.” The Toltec Wisdom books have sold over 12 million copies, and have been published in 46 languages worldwide.don Miguel has spent the past three decades guiding students to personal freedom through his profound insights regarding the nature of human reality. His newest book, THE ACTOR, is part of the Mystery School series written with Barbara Emrys, and was published in November 2020.The youngest of thirteen children, don Miguel Ruiz was born in rural Mexico to parents who were healers and practitioners of ancient Toltec traditions. As a young adult, he graduated from medical school in Mexico City and practiced neurosurgery with his older brother in Tijuana. A near-fatal car crash forever changed the direction of his life, however, causing him to leave medicine and to examine the essential truth about life and humanity. With his mother’s help, and through her ancestral teachings, he discovered his own path to awareness, which evolved into a deep understanding of the physical universe and the virtual world of the mind.Combining Toltec mythology and scientific perspectives, don Miguel has been able to merge ancient wisdom with modern physics and...

We want to be the boss of our mind. Not let it be the boss of us. But often, our responses, emotions and thoughts are so ingrained, so automatic, controlling them seems impossible. But we can. The truth is, we get to choose to believe what we want. I’m not suggesting we ignore proven facts but we can choose.By creating space to think about our thinking, we can gain more authority over our thoughts, over our beliefs. We can then deal with them as things, we can reframe what we believe about life, about ourselves, about others. Thus, we can choose the life that we live. We can reshape what was shaped by our past. Let’s talk about how to believe new things“When we are believing new things, we’re often trying to believe something that’s not yet true for us but that's possibly true, right?… That's going to be true in our future, that's going to be a part of our future.” – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnAwareness and thought downloadsDefuse: Create spacePlay with a thoughtReshape, replace thoughtsFind evidenceNew thoughts feel betterLadder or bridge thoughtsTest it in the real worldContact Info and Recommended ResourcesBook:The Work by Byron KatiePodcast Episodes that pair well with this one:Thought Work: The Most Important Work You Can Ever DoLessons Learned from Byron KatieA Fresh Start (or how to begin again)Connect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachHave anything you’d like to hear me talk about on the podcast? Or have questions about working with me? Email me directly at sara@saradill.com, I personally read and respond to my own emails and would love to correspond with you.Website: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingGet a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

Forgiveness. Without it, we can spiral into bitterness… even against ourselves. And when we cannot forgive ourselves, we can begin to identify with our mistakes. Rather than seeing something we did (or didn’t do) as being separate from who we are, we assign meaning that isn’t necessarily truth.But what if we could step back and assess ourselves and our decisions in a new light? What if we can release the guilt, shame and regret of past mistakes? I have some thoughts and ideas, ones I’ve successfully used myself, to help you do just that. I hope they encourage you and help you learn how to forgive yourself. And, by extension of forgiving yourself, help you to also forgive others.“Part of self-forgiveness is this idea: Can you accept that you did the best you could at the time? And that now that you know better, you can try to do better?”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnSeeing goodness and best effortsNot assigning meaningDisconnecting from identityHonestly assessingKnow better, do betterAsking for forgivenessContact Info and Recommended ResourcesPodcast Episodes that pair well with this one:Lessons Learned from The Sedona MethodLessons Learned from Byron KatieChoose AgainConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachHave anything you’d like to hear me talk about on the podcast? Or have questions about working with me? Email me directly at sara@saradill.com, I personally read and respond to my own emails and would love to correspond with you.Website: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingGet a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

Fresh starts are a necessity in life. A reset, a restart. The new year offers such a wonderful opportunity but what if we didn’t have to wait for a big event (like the changing of the calendar) to start fresh?In this episode, I explore the idea of a fresh start, at any time, on any day, even hour to hour or moment to moment. I share my techniques of practicing this in my own life. And I examine the magic of newness, of showing up differently than we used to, of how to begin again.“Every day we have, every hour, every moment is an invitation to start fresh, to start over. We always have the next moment ahead of us as yet unwritten, unlived, and full of possibility.” – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll Learn Magical opennessStuck in reactivityBreak the cycle, begin againMeditation practiceFresh mind, fresh heartContact Info and Recommended ResourcesPodcast Episodes that pair well with this one:Choose AgainLessons Learned from Eckhart TolleHow to Make DecisionsConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachInterested in coaching? My small group is starting! Sign up at saradill.com/coaching. If you have any questions about the various coaching options or about the small group, please email me at sara@saradill.com. I personally read and respond to my emails.Website: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingGet a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

We’re tight... we’re tense… in both our bodies and our minds. While we know that creating more ease in our bodies is essential for both physical and emotional health and wellbeing, we can struggle to know how to make it happen. We need practical steps to feel less stressed and create ease.The good news is, there are techniques we can employ as needed. I personally use the step-by-step practice I share in this episode because it works. And I hope as we move into the new year, it works for you too.“It’s these brief moments, often repeated, that create new habits and create our sort of new status quo.”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnTraining in tensionBrief moments, often repeatedHow to create more ease, any time, anyplaceSimple but not necessarily easyContact Info and Recommended ResourcesPodcast Episodes that pair well with this one:Goal Setting for a More Amazing LifeHow to cultivate calmness by doing nothingConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachInterested in coaching? I’ll be starting a new small group in January. Sign up at saradill.com/coaching. If you have any questions about the various coaching options or about the small group, please email me at sara@saradill.com. I personally read and respond to my emails. Website: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingGet a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

Goals for the new year. We all have them, even if we don’t make formal New Year's Resolutions. Claiming we’re not going to change anything in the coming year is unrealistic. But so is making goals of changes that are fueled by the wrong reasons or are simply unsustainable.Goal setting, in itself, is a good thing, admirable and worth our efforts. When done right, change can bring about a happier, more amazing life. So how do we choose goals that make sense and result in successful change? What are some pitfalls of goal setting to be avoided? Let's talk about it.“Changing from pressure, telling yourself you have to change… Or changing under threat or fear… that if you don’t do it, something bad is going to happen.… is rarely sustainable..”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnCheck your reasonsBreak it down into measurableChoose for yourselfUnsustainable changeAdding, not losingContact Info and Recommended ResourcesPodcast Episodes that pair well with this one:Two Minutes to Procrastinate Less and Accomplish MoreHow to Drop Your ManualWhat You Can Control (And What You Can’t)Connect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachInterested in coaching? I’ll be starting a new small group in January. Sign up at saradill.com/coaching. If you have any questions about the various coaching options or about the small group, please email me at sara@saradill.com. I personally read and respond to my emails.Website: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingGet a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

We easily see the downside to things. We bond over shared misery. We even might try to get perspective or solutions by pointing out all the negatives in a situation. Complaining. That verbal form of negativity which, unfortunately, our brains are wired for.Since we’re naturally wired this way, we may think, ‘I’m not always upbeat, so what?’ But it affects more than you might think, and studies show it can even affect you for days. But a more positive outlook can be learned. We can rewire our brains, work on the cure for complaining, with some effort. And doing so may be more important than it appears on the surface. “Complaining is also a classic sign, along with blaming others and venting, of [a] victim mentality or victim mind state… Where it’s the opposite of feeling self-empowered or feeling in control… it tends to vent away that energy that we have from those negative emotions, and we don’t often take as much action.”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnScience of complainingReasons we complainCementing negativity5 reasons complaining is a problem3 ways to stop complaining2 techniques for replacing negativityContact Info and Recommended ResourcesPodcast Episodes that pair well with this one:The Gifts of GratitudeLife is Short and Why This MattersHow to Have More FunConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachInterested in coaching? I’ll be starting a new small group in January. Sign up at saradill.com/coaching. If you have any questions about the various coaching options or about the small group, please email me at sara@saradill.com. I personally read and respond to my emails.Website: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingGet a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

Fear of missing out - FOMO. Those thoughts that tell us others are having more fun or a better experience than we are. We’ve all felt this stressor to some degree or another, at some time or another. But what if it’s possible to stop FOMO forever?As I frequently discuss, much of our experiences in life start with our thoughts. Fear of missing out is no different. So perhaps the answer to quieting FOMO lies not in a series of outward steps but rather in some inward ones… in flipping how you’re viewing abundance and scarcity… in acknowledging your power to create the feelings you’re desiring... Let’s talk about it.“The thoughts that you have about missing out are actually the only thing causing your current unhappiness… making you feel lack and scarcity... If you didn’t have thoughts about missing out… you would probably be perfectly happy right now.”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnThought patternsThe best news I can give youAbundance, not scarcityLiking your decision 3 steps to cure FOMOPinpoint itName itCreate itContact Info and Recommended ResourcesPodcast Episodes that pair well with this one:What You Can Control (And What You Can’t)How to Have More FunTaming AnxietyConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachInterested in coaching? I’ll be starting a new small group in January. Sign up at saradill.com/coaching.If you have any questions about the various coaching options or about the small group, please email me at sara@saradill.com. I personally read and respond to my emails.Website: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingGet a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

Guilty gratitude. We’ve all experienced it one time or another. That thought that invades and tells you you “ought to” feel grateful. But you don’t. So you try to muster it up… but it’s not true gratitude. It’s only a form of guilt, layering a false emotion on top of your real one. Layering gratitude like this is unhelpful.So what is helpful? Being honest. Not judging yourself for your emotions. Viewing them more objectively. After all, what if some emotions simply feel better than others but that doesn’t necessarily make them somehow morally superior? What if we can learn how to not use gratitude (or any emotion) against ourselves?“Can you also cultivate being grateful for not being grateful?... For not being perfect maybe? For having this wonderfully messy human life that we have?”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnSubtle judgment Improper uses of gratitudeShouldingStaying stuckToleratingYou are not your feelings Don’t cover, be realContact Info and Recommended ResourcesPodcast Episodes that pair well with this one:How to Feel a FeelingThought Work: The Most Important Work You Can DoHow to Feel BetterConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachInterested in coaching? I’ll be starting a new small group in January. Sign up at saradill.com/coaching. If you have any questions about the various coaching options or about the small group, please email me at sara@saradill.com. I personally read and respond to my emails. Website: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingGet a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

Gratitude is an emotion and a state of mind that brings multiple benefits. Slowing down and reflecting on what we’re grateful for can bring us so much positivity and lift us up. But it’s not necessarily something that comes naturally. We have to work on it. Be intentional about it.With this episode, I want to encourage you to put some new gratitude “tools” into your personal skill set. Exercising the superpower of recognizing the existence of goodness and staying in that moment can transform your daily experiences. In fact, gratitude is essential to actually enjoying our life. So let’s talk about it!“The number of positive experiences that you notice is much more important than how special or how exceptional those experiences are… It’s more beneficial to savor ordinary, pleasant, everyday activities, rather than sort of waiting for important or extraordinary events that don’t happen very often.”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnWhat experts say about itGifts of gratitude:Life improvementsHealth benefits3 Exercises to cultivate gratitude:Savor something dailyFocus on what you’re grateful forPractice expressing appreciationContact Info and Recommended ResourcesArticles on the benefits of gratitude:research.com/education/scientific-benefits-of-gratitudepositivepsychology.com/benefits-gratitude-research-questionsGet my book, where I talk about gratitude along with other stress-reducing concepts: The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicinePodcast Episodes that pair well with this one:How to Have More FunWhat if the Good Ole Days are Now?Life is Short and Why This MattersConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachInterested in coaching? I’ll be starting a new small group in January. Sign up at saradill.com/coaching. If you have any questions about the various coaching options or about the small group, please email me at sara@saradill.com. I personally read and respond to my emails.Website: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingGet a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting...

Letting go can be hard. Even if we academically understand the validity and the health aspects behind releasing negativity and emotions, it can be difficult to put into practice. That’s why it’s extremely helpful to have some idea of step-by-step techniques and questions we can ask ourselves. In my personal journey to being a stress-less physician, I’ve learned an approach made popular by Lester Levenson based on Hale Dwoskin’s book, The Sedona Method. The concept is to bring yourself to a place where you’re not holding on so tightly to painful or unwanted feelings, whether in the moment you have them or later on as you reflect. This method has five approaches, and each works slightly differently but all can be useful. Although I’m not trained to teach the method, I hope that as I share an overview of it, you find the concept potentially beneficial to you.“What if feelings are actually just perpetuating the problems that they appear to be preventing? What if feelings are sometimes a lie?”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnWhat The Sedona Method works onThe continuum of letting goShifting from heavy to lightFeelings sometimes lieEmotional ladderPitfalls to avoidStuck on the why4 questions to ask yourselfContact Info and Recommended ResourcesBook:The Sedona Method by Hale Dwoskin(Learn more about The Sedona Method with Lester Levenson) Podcast Episodes that pair well with this one:BoundariesImproving Your Relationships by minding your own businessLife is Short and Why This MattersConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachInterested in coaching? Sign up at saradill.com/coaching. Have any questions about the various options? Email me at sara@saradill.com. I personally read and respond to my emails.Website: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingI read all my own email and I’d love to hear from you! Please write to me at sara@saradill.com. Get a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting...

We spend a very large amount of time and energy concerned about the opinions of others. Perhaps too much. While it’s important to be kind and take other people’s feelings into consideration, if it causes us to constantly seek the approval of others, we may have a problem.So at what point are other people’s opinions none of your business? Where do you draw the line that states your freedom will not be inhibited by the ever-changing thoughts of others? Let’s talk about how to find and create that healthy boundary.“Giving people permission to not like you or approve of you or agree with you, can be so powerful. And notice how much freedom that gives you. Freedom to grow… and freedom to create a life that feels like your life, not someone else’s life.”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnManipulation of opinionsLetting go of trying to controlThoughts are temporaryLiving someone else’s lifeBeing okay with people getting it wrongUnderstanding our need for acceptanceNot adding meaningContact Info and Recommended ResourcesInterested in coaching? Sign up at saradill.com/coaching. Have any questions about the various options? Email me at sara@saradill.com. I personally read and respond to my emails.Podcast Episodes that pair well with this one:BoundariesImproving Your Relationships by minding your own businessLife is Short and Why This MattersConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachWebsite: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingI read all my own email and I’d love to hear from you! Please write to me at sara@saradill.com. Get a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

Have you grown up a little too much? Lost the natural child-like ability to just have fun on a daily basis? I think that, as adults, we have to cultivate and create fun for ourselves. We’re quite good at thinking about this and making it happen for the children in our lives, but not so good at making it happen for ourselves. And let’s face it, fun doesn’t just happen by itself. It takes some intentionality.Why is this important and why am I talking about it? Bottom line: It’s healthy. We need the rejuvenation that doing something we enjoy – something just for the pure fun of it – offers. Our lives are busy, hectic, stressful… and without making time for recreation, we will burn out. So let’s talk about how to have more fun! And if you have difficulty thinking of things you might like to do, I have some thought-starters that may help.“Life is a series of challenges and events and things that happen… Do we feel like we have enough of a buffer or surplus to cultivate the good stuff…To allow us and enable us to meet all those challenges and not to feel wiped out?”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnReasons we lack funWhy we need funRemember what you used to likeSome thought-startersIntentionality of challengeContact Info and Recommended ResourcesSmall Group Physician Coaching starting soon! Sign up at saradill.com/coaching. Have questions about the group? Email me at sara@saradill.com.Podcast Episodes that pair well with this one:Why Self-Care Matters (and isn’t selfish)Enjoying Time Off From WorkLife is Short and Why This MattersConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachWebsite: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingI read all my own email and I’d love to hear from you! Please write to me at sara@saradill.com. Get a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

Looking back over all that has occurred the past couple of years has reminded me of how precious life and time are. We’ve all had things drastically change in our lives and in the lives of those around us. And all this change has me pondering the depth of what it means to live the moment, and to appreciate the time we have. Through this episode, I want to encourage you to examine the truth that life is short. And to dive into why this matters. This is absolutely not in a “life is short and then you die” kind of way, but rather in a way of cherishing one another and the time we have together. I hope to help each of us embrace more fully the gifts of living wisely, aligning with purpose, and especially, loving and being loved.“Is there a way in which someone who was observing how you spend your days… would they get what’s really valuable to you?... I don’t believe in just living FOR the moment, but living IN the moment… I would just encourage all of us to not miss out on our actual life while maybe worrying about or thinking about our future life or maybe even our past life.”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnDaily appreciationCherishing time and other peopleLiving wiselyEmbracing the momentAligning with purposeFully lovingContact Info and Recommended ResourcesSmall Group Physician Coaching starting soon! Sign up at saradill.com/coaching. Have questions about the group? Email me at sara@saradill.com.Podcast Episodes:What if the Good Ole Days are Now?Choose AgainWhat You Can Control (And What You Can't)Connect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachWebsite: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingI read all my own email and I’d love to hear from you! Please write to me at sara@saradill.com. Get a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

As physicians, as business owners, as human beings, we all struggle with jealousy and/or envy from time to time. Those feelings like others have more or that we want something they have. I’m here to tell you, it’s normal. But if it’s just a natural human emotion, why bother to think much about it?Because I believe examining jealousy and envy gives us deep and valuable insight into how we think about ourselves. Hand in hand with that, it reveals our perceptions of what we believe we can have, what we can achieve, even our place in the world. When we can step back and objectively examine times of jealousy or envy, we can turn that normally negative experience to our advantage. Let’s talk about what to do when you feel jealousy or envy.“A lot of people notice that when they feel envious or jealous, then they also sort of add on a layer of shame or wrongness for even feeling it… I just want to say it’s totally normal. And that layer of shame or embarrassment or denying it or resisting it… that's super unnecessary. That is just gonna block you from actually working with it, from actually getting the information that jealousy and envy are there to provide for us.”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnDifferences between jealousy and envyValue of examining our thoughtsSteps for what to do when you feel jealousy or envyNotice when or what causes itIdentify your thoughtsQuestion your thoughtsCome up with 3 waysDiscover how you would feelGo on assignmentContact Info and Recommended ResourcesSmall Group Physician Coaching starting soon! Sign up at saradill.com/coaching. Have questions about the group? Email me at sara@saradill.com.Podcast Episodes:Fear: Friend or Faux?Self-ConfidenceBelieving New ThingsConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachWebsite: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingI read all my own email and I’d love to hear from you! Please write to me at sara@saradill.com. Get a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

As physicians, we all want to be viewed as a good doctor. But how do you really know? What can you measure to find out? Whether we think of them in this way or not, we have metrics we typically use. We might look at obvious things such as awards or achievements or patient feedback, or we may even have metrics we’re not aware we’re internally using. And surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, none of those metrics are really the best way to know if you’re a good doctor.Like so many things we face in life, all of this starts with how we think. We take our perception of what we believe others think about us, gathered from various outward indicators, and from those we decide if we’re a good doctor. But there is a pretty big problem with this. Let’s talk about it.“So often being a good doctor for me means NOT making patients happy. If I disagree with what they want, it might mean saying no.”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll Learn What do you thinkSources of outside metricsThe problem with outside metricsTap dancing and over-responsibilityChoosing metrics you can controlMetrics suggestions and a challengeContact Info and Recommended ResourcesSmall Group Physician Coaching starting soon! Sign up at saradill.com/coaching. Have questions about the group? Email me at sara@saradill.com.Podcast Episodes:What You Can Control (And What You Can’t)Thought Work: The Most Important Work You Can Ever DoBoundariesConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachWebsite: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingI read all my own email and I’d love to hear from you! Please write to me at sara@saradill.com. Get a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

For a variety of reasons, we say yes more often than we should. This triggers excess stress and stifles honest communication. But what if saying yes is actually the poorer choice? The truth is, we cannot excel at everything. So knowing how and when to say no is not only personally healthy but it can actually be the kindest answer we can give.Intellectually understanding the value of saying no is much easier than the actual execution of it. Faced with a request, in the moment, it can be hard to not just say yes. That’s why I wanted to share several helpful insights, exercises, and ways to reframe both your answer, and your thinking, around how to say no.“I feel like being honest in my yeses and nos allows me to be more kind. It might not always be perceived as nice but it’s kind in that it’s honest... I like the question of: What if love, what if acting out of love, might look like a yes and a no?”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll Learn Honest communicationReasons we say yesIdentifying worriesPracticing saying noGently framing your noContact Info and Recommended ResourcesBook:A Mind at Home with Itself: How Asking Four Questions Can Free Your Mind, Open Your Heart and Turn Your World Around by Byron KatiePodcast Episodes:Choose AgainUnwritten Rules That Keep Us StuckHow to Make DecisionsConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachWebsite: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingI read all my own email and I’d love to hear from you! Please write to me at sara@saradill.com. Get a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

When we’re mentally in someone else’s business, or in God’s business, we’re not present in our own lives. And we’re taking on an incredible amount of stress and accountability. Along with personal overwhelm, this can create strain and negatively affect our relationships.But as physicians, it’s our very job to help people. Add to that the normal relationships of being a friend, child, parent, spouse or colleague… and the number of people for whom we have some measure of responsibility can be pretty high. So how can we know when we’ve moved out of healthy boundaries and into other people’s business? In this episode, I give you several examples to identify being in other people’s business, along with suggestions for how to move back into healthier boundaries. It’s not only personally freeing but you can actually improve your relationships by minding your own business. “What I’ve discovered is that most of the time, we’re often in other people’s business… We’re disconnected from ourselves because no one’s home. No one’s minding our own business… So this can be a practice where you just keep coming back to yourself... What’s my business here?”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll Learn3 types of businessExamples of being in someone’s businessDefine your own businessOffering advice without undue responsibilityTaking our own adviceComing back to yourselfContact Info and Recommended ResourcesByron Katie: The WorkConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachWebsite: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingI read all my own email and I’d love to hear from you! Please write to me at sara@saradill.com. Get a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram

We tend to reflect on certain things in the past as being better, aka “the old good days”. That reflection typically revolves around experiencing things a certain way that we no longer can now. An example is one I’ve been thinking about lately: how much has changed since the pandemic. Things I had once taken for granted, such as going out to eat or making vacation plans aren’t as easy or certain anymore.As I reminisced a little, I was reminded of a technique involving reflecting on current times as being the good old days. This technique involves imagining your future self thinking back on today. And it is a powerful method for focusing on what you might miss in the future if it were (or when it is) gone. This exercise harkens to both Hedonic Adaptation and the Stoic Philosophy of viewing events and processing emotion. And it holds some potential framework for cultivating positivity and gratitude now.“Picture yourself in five years or ten years or twenty years, forty years… What might you wish you had appreciated more now? What might you miss in the future that you, perhaps, are taking for granted now?... Can we live today with the appreciation that one day, this is gonna be one of the good old days?”  – Dr. Sara DillWhat You’ll LearnReflecting as the future youHedonic adaptationAppreciating your current ‘good old days’Stoic philosophyCultivating gratitude and aweContact Info and Recommended ResourcesBooks and articles about Stoic Philosophy:  William B. IrvineConnect with Sara Dill, MD, The Doctor’s CoachWebsite: saradill.comWork with me: saradill.com/coachingI read all my own email and I’d love to hear from you! Please write to me at sara@saradill.com. Get a FREE consultation with Sara! Sign up here: saradill.com/scheduleGet Dr. Dill’s book The Doctor Dilemma: How to Quit Being Miserable Without Quitting MedicineFacebookInstagram