From “There Is No Time” to Joy in Medicine

December is my favorite time of the year. The holiday season, the colorful decorative lights, the family time and the celebration with the true meaning behind Christmas. Some patients share with me that this is a stressful time for them, because of the anticipation of hosting other family members, and there is no time to buy all the gifts. What I always encourage the patients to do is to enjoy the moment and be patient. Although each person has their own true meaning behind this holiday season, I doubt the most important thing is to buy gifts or to prepare the Christmas meal. Most people tell me that they look forward to spending time with their families, especially with relatives from out of town.

The holiday season can be stressful – if you let it be. Or you can make it more joyful and meaningful. Set the intention about the holiday season. What do you really want? What are you focusing on? Spending meaningful time with the family seems to be the most popular voice. It is easy to fall into the trap of “there is no time” – no time to get ready, no time to buy the gifts, no time to spend with the family. Time seems to be the most popular factor to be stressed about. There is no time to do this or that. Time seems to be consumed by work. As a physician in clinical medicine, many of you are constantly on, even when you are on vacation. You are always rushing, trying to finish your day at a decent hour. There is no time. You keep telling yourself. Forget about going shopping – there is no time. Getting more sleep? There is of course no time for it. Before you realize, the holiday season is no longer a joyous celebration but a burden. You ”have to” buy gifts for your staff and for your family. You “have to” do something festive.

Or do you really have to do this or do that? There is always a choice. You get to decide what to do. A typical work week may feel draining. You use much of your physical and mental energy in patient care. You tend to forget about yourself. You may be so consumed in dealing with the everyday routine yet energy slashing life that you forget what joy is. Joy seems to be a luxury and it does not have to be. Without joy, life may seem meaningless. This is not to say that you need to experience joy all the time.

What brings you joy? I think it goes back to knowing your values. When you do more of what is in alignment with your values, you get to experience more joy. There are likely multiple things which bring you joy. The more the merrier. Think about your typical day. Do you get to do things you enjoy? If not, I invite you to examine your life and your work. Is there anything you do that brings you joy every day?

If your current work is not bringing you any joy, I encourage you to examine your life and find ways to infuse more joy. Are you making choices and doing things according to your values? Are you intentionally creating more opportunities to bring more joyful moments in your life?

Schedule it. If it is not on your schedule, chances are, you probably will not get to do it. Instead of believing that you do not have time to do something you enjoy, shift to believing that you will have time to do something you enjoy doing. It can be something small. Start with doing something you enjoy for 15 minutes a day. That something becomes what you look forward to.

We have a finite number of days on earth. We can contribute to the world and experience more joy in life. Have the intention to infuse more joyful moments every day. Schedule times for those joyful events. You get to have more peace when you do more things you enjoy in life.