As pharmacists, we tend to be people pleasers. We want to do everything, for everyone, all of the time.
Quickly we may find we are doing less for ourselves by giving as much as possible to others.
While I don’t support curbing the amount of giving that you want to have in your life, I am currently re-reading a book (with the Pharmacy Girls Book Club) called Essentialism by Greg McKeown that is reminding me of a few important principles when we choose how to spend our time.
McKeown discusses three fallacies we need to conquer to re-route to a life of an essentialist.
#1: I have to. This implies that one truly has no choice. What if we reframed this statement with one slight word change: I choose to vs. I have to. This results in a huge change of mindset. When we refocus on what we choose to pursue, choose to give, choose to do in life, our power over our own actions makes it’s way back around.
#2: It’s all important. McKeown discusses the misuse of the word priority and that we (societally) have grown to make this word plural when it is intended to be singular. Only a few things truly matter. What those ‘things’ are is up to you to determine. What sets your soul on fire? A great quote that McKeown cites by Mary Oliver puts this perspective into words: “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?”
#3: I can do both. Thought change: I can do anything but not everything. This is likely where we get caught up as pharmacists. Trying to do everything, all at once, and finding ourselves spinning our wheels. When you can choose what to do, you can pick from anything; trying to do everything can certainly lead to burnout.
So, I have a challenge for you this week. What will you do less of? What will you stop doing? How will you simplify your life by just one little bit?
Feeling stuck? Let’s chat.
Jackie is a coach at the Happy PharmD. She loves her family, changing the world, and pharmacy. 🙂