I am a physician and a mom of 4 kids.

I used to live in the Land of Overwhelm most of my days. I felt stressed often. I thought that being overwhelmed was just because I had so many things on my "To do" list....

• work obligations
• clinic meetings
• kids athletic events
• bedtime routines
• lunches to pack
• laundry
• I could go ON AND ON AND ON   (you MamaDocs know what I'm talking about!)

It made my head hurt and my chest feel heavy. I had tension in my shoulders all the time.  Low grade nausea was common. I was so uncomfortable.

And then I learned something amazing and LIFE CHANGING.....

I didn't have to think about it this way. In fact, I didn't really have to do anything. I was choosing to do these things. I gave myself PERMISSION TO SAY NO and this helped get rid of things I didn't really want to do, and I learned to re-frame and prioritize everything else.

 Know what?  I rarely feel overwhelmed anymore. Seriously...same job, same kids and a full life. It...

You've always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.

-Wizard to Oz

This is EXACTLY how I felt when I learned about life coaching.

I had been looking OUTSIDE of me for answers and ways to feel better.

When I learned that I AM THE ONE who has the answers my world changed.

When I learned the tools to explore my thoughts, to be more efficient and set huge impossible goals, I felt like I won the keys to the universe.

What I won was the key to unlock my brain.

I've had it all along.

**If you'd like to learn how to unlock your brain and feel better please reach out and set up a free consultation. Change is possible. You can feel better. I can help.

Did you know that "being busy" is a choice?

"I'm so busy; I have so much to do" is thought that makes me feel rushed and anxious.  It typically makes me unfocused and I don't get much done because I spin out in confusion and overwhelm!  Where to even begin?!?  Oh...and getting real here..I may also react with crabbiness along the way! 

When I take a moment to be deliberate about my "to do list", instead of thinking "I need to do it all",  I choose a thought that serves me better:

• Who better than me to get this done?
• I've done hard things before and I can do it again.
• What is it that I WANT to get accomplished today?

 These thoughts bring me a feeling of confidence and ease and actually peace...even before I've done anything!

And that, my friends, is amazing!  So consider taking a breath and letting go of "being busy"...you may surprise yourself and actually get more done and with more ease!

**If you'd like to learn more about how coaching...

We learned so many things in Med School.

So many awesome things .

And SO many things that I'll never use again (Krebs cycle anyone?)

But most of all...we TRAINED our brain to look at our world in a certain way.

We were trained to LOOK FOR THE BAD...

the signs and symptoms of a particular diagnosis

whether someone was "sick/not sick" in a glance (aka are they going to code in the next 5 minutes?)

for the minute details picked up with our detective work ....the smell on the patients breath, the feel of their skin, the sound of their voice...

AND all of these things are SO important and valuable in helping our patients!

 BUT when we bring this same brain home with the well-worn neural pathways...it is no wonder we see all the things WRONG around us!  Our brains were trained this way.

So of course we come home and see the socks on the floor immediately and the dirty dishes in the sink....not because those things are dangerous but because our brain follows this familiar...

So often I tell moms in my office that they need to "put their oxygen mask on first" when they are describing feeling overwhelmed and stressed in their lives. I see how they are caring for everyone around them and they put their needs last. I think we MamaDocs know this life all too well and it contributes to feelings of burnout, resentment and exhaustion!

I used to wish that someone would tell me that line!  Isn't that funny...I thought I needed to hear it from someone else. I told patients to take care of themselves but didn't heed the same advise for me! Until I realized that I was EXHAUSTED and fed up with feeling like crap.  I took my own advise. 

Know what?  When you take better care of yourself and fill up your reserves, you actually have MORE ENERGY and DESIRE to help others.  AMAZING!  So many of us feel guilty or think we HAVE to do something and it really drains us...but the opposite can be true.

So...Take my advice! Meet YOUR needs first....

A few years back when I was really struggling with life as a busy physician and mom of 4,  I would often groan as my alarm went off. Thoughts of "here we go again" and "ugh...so much to do" would start spinning in my brain and it is no wonder that my day continued with a cloud of dread!

And then one morning, I reached for my phone to distract myself and I thought " is this phone really the most important thing to me"?  I quickly answered no and instead of scrolling on social media, opened a note section on my phone where I jotted down a few things I was grateful for. I looked back just now and I'll share my day one:

signs of spring are everywhere, pink sunrise at 630, birds chirping, icy puddles, lovely run, health, family

And so began a near daily practice of starting my day with being grateful. And the most amazing thing started to happen...the more I did it, the more amazing things I was finding in my life to be grateful for.   Of course, I had heard this...

As long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a mom and a doctor.  I am so grateful to say that I am a MamaDoc.  It was an exhilarating journey but at times has been very overwhelming...I've felt like I was drowning.  I then made myself feel worse by thinking...look at what you've accomplished, you have no reason to feel bad.  Over the years, I've looked to running , yoga, friendships and date nights to feel better. And, those things helped...for awhile.  I kept looking for the next external fix or goal to feel better.

Then a few years ago I listened to a podcast called "The life coach school"  by Brooke Castillo. ( I really wish I could remember who recommended it because I'd give them a huge hug!) and it seriously blew my mind.  I kept listening and realized the solution to feeling better was WITHIN ME all along. I jumped in and started getting coaching and I could finally breathe again.  It changed my life so dramatically that I became a...