#250 The Burnout Cure: Balancing Your Career, Investments, and Personal Life

Hey, everyone. Hope you're having a great week, but if you're not, this might be the episode for you. We're going to be talking about a topic that I usually don't talk about a lot. I don't like using the word burnout too much. I sometimes feel like it's overused, but I struggle to find a better word for that feeling that many of us have. Where you're feeling empty, where you're trying to juggle so many different things in your life. We're going to talk about burnout. What really causes it, how to address it, how you can take action to get. Get unstuck and create more balance and build resilience in your life. So stay tuned. Welcome to the Passive Income MD Podcast, where we talk about creating your ideal life through multiple streams of income. If you enjoy hearing about this stuff, make sure to hit subscribe. Now, let's get on with the show. Okay, as I mentioned, I'm not one of those that typically focuses on burnout. I feel like the word is sometimes overused and creates this negative connotation. It comes loaded with so many thoughts. I mean, for you yourself, like, when you hear that word, what do you think of it Might be slightly different for everyone, but for me, the image isn't great. At some point, we probably all felt some aspects of it. I mean, there are studies out there that show that 50 to 60% of physicians experience at least one or two major symptoms of burnout currently, right now or every year. And that's just people who report it. But when you're a busy professional trying to juggle all the things in your life, trying to create a great life for yourself and your family, trying to stay ahead, trying to do things competently, you're trying to help people. You want to do it all right, and you don't want to make mistakes, but you want to have a great life. If that's you, you've probably experienced this at some point in your career or your life where you feel a little stuck. Maybe you feel like you've lost a little bit of control over your time or your decisions. And sometimes that's how burnout can present itself. And so I want to start talking a little bit more about what it is and then why it happens. For some people, again, it just feels like you're tired. Maybe it feels like you're stressed and you don't know why. It's like this weird state. Like it can be emotional, can be mental, can be physical. That happens when you just stretch too thin. For a little bit too long, like you haven't come back to yourself. And it's not just about working hard, because we all know that we can work hard. And how many of you have something in your life where maybe you don't have to do it or something you enjoy actually, and it's hard work, and you do it and you actually feel good about yourself? For many of us that might be working out, that might be doing things for your family, that might be doing things in the backyard, this might be a hobby that you have that is extremely rigorous, but you feel good at the end of the day. Now, burnout actually usually produces the opposite result, where you start to feel really empty, you feel drained, you feel disconnected in a way, maybe even powerless. Now, I hear that from physicians who are 20 years out in practice, seven years out, maybe some just a few years out. And I even hear from some people that are in residency, and maybe they're just coming out and they already feel like it. Now there's so many smarter people who are addressing this issue in a meaningful way. And I really listen to them about what some of the causes are. And they say the two major causes are, number one, one, lack of control. And number two, it's this concept of something called moral injury. Now, lack of control, I think we understand what that means. It means that you don't really feel like you can make your own decisions about how you spend your time. Maybe it's about what's happening at work. You can't make the decisions according to what you feel best is right for the patient. You're bound by certain rules by the institution. You're worried about some of the consequences. There's not that autonomy that we all thought we'd have at when we became attendings. Maybe you're stuck in this weird cycle. You can't break out, you show up, but you can't wait to leave work and be done at the end of the day. And it can be draining because it just feels like you're going through the motions. Even though we expected a much different result when we finished residency and fellowship, became an attending, we thought it'd be different not having that control over your time and your life and your energy. Yeah, it can be a drain on you. And this kind of goes into the concept of moral injury that I first heard about this through different podcasts online. They describe this whole concept of moral injury is when your work forces you to hacked in ways that maybe conflict with. With your core values. Like now, maybe in healthcare, we were put in situations where we can't provide the type of care that we want or that we feel our patients deserve because of the system, because of admin. And it's not about how much you work, it's just kind of these kind of decisions. When it goes against your integrity, when it goes against your, who you are, it starts to wear you down over time. So can you relate to either of these situations? I wanna let you know, if that's the case, you're not alone. Everyone feels it in some degree, one way or another. But. But I believe there are ways to overcome this, that there are some solutions to this. Now I don't try to pretend that there's one solution that fits all. This is obviously a very complex issue. Everybody has their own personal situations that they bring into this, their own backgrounds, what they're dealing with. But I will say that there are some overall principles that could help people. Knowing that these are the two major issues that may cause this whole feeling of burnout. I think that first solution is to try to regain control. Some aspect of control will help you in your life. Number one, maybe you can set some boundaries. Maybe it's your schedule that's taking you to the point of exhaustion. Maybe you're feeling the need to sign up for different committees to take part in certain things that maybe benefit someone else but don't benefit you. Now it's always good to give, but if you're not giving out of abundance, but you're giving out of this whole concept of feeling like it's mandatory or obligation where you actually feel kind of empty in your giving that can take you to the point of exhaustion. So it's important to set some boundaries, protect your personal time. No one will protect your time like you. So I've really worked on this myself. I've started to schedule personal time on my calendar. Usually I'll leave my calendar open and people will put get on it meetings, calls, you always find a way to fill it. But I started putting in time. Time with my wife, time with my kids, time to just go and walk around the neighborhood. Once it's on the calendar, it's a non negotiable and I feel like I have a little bit more control over my schedule and that's made a huge difference. Joining a mastermind group was apparent pivotal moment in my life. Within the first year my income tripled and by year four it had increased twentyfold. But the benefits went far beyond financial gains. I found myself surrounded by a network of like minded individuals forming connections that would become Lifelong friendships and the collective wisdom and support from this community played a crucial role in my success and personal development. From these amazing experiences, I felt a strong desire to create a similar community for my colleagues and peers. And that's you. That's why I launched Momentum MD Mastermind. People have been asking what this is. Momentum MD or MMD for short. It's designed to offer the same transformational powers in both personal and professional growth that I've experienced. It's not just about increasing your income. It's about creating this amazing environment where you can thrive, learn and grow alongside other ambitious and supportive like minded individuals. MMD provides a space where members can share their challenges, celebrate their victories and push each other and keep each other accountable to reach new heights. It's about building a network of professionals who are committed to helping each other succeed. We focus on actionable strategies, accountability, and fostering an environment of continuous improvement. So whether you're looking to advance in your career, start a new venture, or simply find more balance and fulfillment in your life, MMD is here to support you every step of the way. Now, if this resonates with you in some way and you're interested in learning more, we'd love to hear from you. To learn more about the Momentum MD Mastermind and to pre apply for a call with us, please visit momentummd.com let's see how we can help elevate your life to the next level. There are limited spots, so don't wait. Take the first step towards your transformation today. You won't regret it. Number two, maybe realize that you have more ownership or more control over your career than you think. I know so many situations where people have this desire to maybe cut back a little bit, maybe to cut a half day. I mean, there are many people who are part of our Momentum MD Mastermind who came in wanting to take control of their careers and they wanted to go down to part time or maybe not pick up as many shifts or stop doing calls overnight or on weekends and they just couldn't figure out how to make it happen. And sometimes it just required a shift in their mindset, meaning that they realized they have a lot more leverage than they think, meaning that they can simply ask for it and really negotiate it. And I will say, more often than not, bringing that to the table has shifted things for them. Whether it was changing their schedule, maybe it was a shift in the way that they thought about their career, it was a shift in the way they got help to maybe get some of their tasks delegated. It was a Shift in the way. Maybe they were doing non clinical work that maybe didn't suit them or serve them or help them in any way. Just by doing that, they felt a little bit more ownership over their career and it really changed the game for them. I remember one member after our conference came back and said, you know, the things that work just didn't bother me as much as they used to. Just because I had this feeling like, oh, there are alternatives, there are ways for me to take control of this. And I hope that for every person out there. Number two, you wanted to figure out how to build resilience. And I think the key way to do that is through this word called diversification, both in your income and your identity. Now let's go through that one by one in your income. We all know that diversification is important when we invest in, let's say the stock market. People say to invest in an index fund or mutual funds because you never know what's going to go up and go down. Especially if you're listening to this in a time like today, there's so much volatility in the stock market, who knows what's going to happen? But if you play the long game and you diversify, you're most likely going to do quite well over time. One of the biggest contributors to burnout for a lot of people is just feeling financially trapped, meaning that all of your income comes from your job and you have no choice. You got to stay there. You're locked in even when it's burning you out. You're overworking and you can't do anything about it. I believe that diversification in this area is so powerful. By building additional income streams, by figuring out that you can do other things to create income, you're not just locked into being a physician. You could do this on the side. These side hustles, investing in real estate, investing in certain stocks, maybe they pay dividends or growing your assets. That way you give yourself options. Like if you're no longer dependent on one income source, that changes the game. It gives you that freedom to make decisions that align with your goals. So you're not so bound to one thing, and you do have a choice in that matter. That's why we talk about it so much on this podcast in our community. Number two, you want to be able to diversify your identity. And I get this is a big one. When you introduce yourself to anyone for the first time, the first question is, what's your name? And the second one is always, what do you do? And so Our identities, I get it. It's wrapped up in our careers. In fact, most of our lives, it was really in the pursuit of that degree that MD that do whatever it might be, we're high achievers and so so much of our self worth is tied to our professional success degree. But you know this, you are so much more than your job. When you're with your friends, with your family, is that the primary thing that drives their relationship with you? Absolutely not. I think we all know that. And we all know that in the relationships that are the most fulfilling to us, it has nothing to do with work outside of it. We are husbands, we are wives, we are fathers, we are mothers, we are entrepreneurs, we are coaches, we're athletes. For some of us, we're musicians, artists. There's so much more to us than just one thing. And so when your identity's wrapped up in one area and maybe it's not how it's going, maybe it's not going how you want it to, it's easy to understand why your energy goes down, why you start to feel less in terms of your self worth and your sense of self kind of drops. But when it's not tied into one thing, it is something that we do. And at pimdcon I talked about, we are doctor plus. We're not just doctors, we're doctors plus so much more. And if you can see yourself as that, you can see yourself as an investor, you can see yourself as a creator, then you'll find yourself doing all of these other things that ultimately do create freedom for yourself because it diversifies your interests, diversifies your income, diversifies your identity, and it gives you a renewed sense of energy and purpose, which is what I was missing for such a long time. And the last thing I think is to really understand what your values are. Are the actions in your life aligning with your values. Because ultimately we're driven by our own values and beliefs. If things we do are not in alignment with it, and we all know that we do things that maybe are outside our character and it happens, or things that we don't believe in, it really pains us. And internally, it can really impact us, hopefully our careers, hopefully what we invest in, hopefully what we do on a daily basis aligns with that. But sometimes we go down a certain path without thinking about it. So sometimes it's good to go back to what your values are and just make sure things are in alignment. It's kind of a tune up. Over time, the alignments get out of whack, just like with Your car and it starts to get bumpy. You start thinking, what do I want my life to be about? What do I want my life to look like? Am I current decisions, what I'm doing, really in alignment with that? And if not, how do I get back on the right path? Sometimes just that tweak makes a big difference. So here are some really quick practical steps as I end this just so you can get started. Number one, do a quick time audit. I know it sounds simple. Figure out how you're spending time each week. Can you create more space for yourself? Can you create time where you can feel like you are in control? And sometimes just putting things in the calendar makes it feel like that. You know, doing something for yourself, going out to play around in golf, going out and walking. Whatever it is, if you create some of that space for yourself in your schedule, sometimes you start to feel a little bit more free. Next, think about diversification. Pick one area in your life to diversify this month. Whether it's a new investment, starting a new side hustle, picking up a new hobby. Realize there was maybe more to life than what you're doing on a day to day basis right now. Number three, set in a non negotiable. I say choose one thing that's like essential to your happiness. Whether that's family time, maybe it's a daily workout. Protect it. I promise you you'll feel great about yourself. And the last thing is simply reassess. Check in with yourself. You want to check in with yourself now and then find a regular cadence where you do that to make sure things are in alignment. Otherwise you might slip far off the path. It doesn't mean you can't get back, but you want to do it often so you don't veer too far. Are you aligned with your goals? Are you aligned with your values? Now I have to tell you, burnout can be temporary. By regaining control, diversifying your income, your identity, aligning it with your values, you can create a life, I believe this, that's not just successful, but also fulfilling. It's also sustainable, it's also giving and it's abundant. So here's my challenge to you. Take that one small step, maybe something, one thing that I said today that might resonate with you. Find that one thing and make that happen. Now if you found this helpful for you, maybe there's someone else that can benefit from listening to this, please share it with other people. I hope this added value to you in some way. Have an amazing week and let's talk again soon. Thanks everyone. Enjoy the show. Let me know by dropping a review in the podcast app you're listening to us in. And if you haven't already, be sure to hit subscribe. Join thousands of physicians who are also on this journey to creating their ideal lives through multiple streams of income. Learn more at our website, passiveincomemd.com thanks again for allowing me to be a part of your journey. See you next time.