7 Signs You're Happy and How to Stay That Way
“Happiness is a choice,” says retired RN Karen Brandt, of Prior Lake, MN. When her husband died of pancreatic cancer almost twenty years ago, he put his hands to her face and said, ‘I want you to live and full and complete life.’ I decided right then to do that,” says the 79-year-old. What started as a choice became a practice, and then a habit. You can see her happiness. It is the lens through which she sees the world.
It’s nearly impossible to see the world through this lens, when you’re burned out. With as many as 50 percent of physicians reporting being burned out, the happiness lens is seriously cracked for many, calling for all hands on deck to attack the problem. But it also means that the other half of physicians are NOT burned out and many of them, dare I say, happy. We tend to shine light on problems rather than what’s working. While bringing awareness to problems is a necessary step toward fixing them, focusing on what’s working ensures that happiness and satisfaction multiply. Happiness is not an accident. It is hard-won. Happy people make happiness a choice.
Through my conversations with doctors — and my own life’s journey — here are 7 common practices of happy people:
1. Make the place where you work sacred space
2. Engage in meditation and/or spiritual practice
3. Exercise regularly
4. Rest and relax
5. Have or reignite your sense of purpose*
6. Create partnerships with your patients so they participate in their own healing
7. Participate in community within and outside of medicine
*This may involve exploring alternate/complimentary jobs, e.g. consulting, mentoring, coaching.