November 2001
Volume 65 |
Number 11
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WHAT'S
NEW IN…
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| Stress Management: Finding
Your Purpose on the Ark |
Jessie A. Leak, M.D.
“In the lives of many people it is possible to find a unifying
purpose that justifies the things they do day in, day out —
a goal that like a magnetic field attracts their psychic energy,
a goal upon which all lesser goals depend…Without such a purpose,
even the best-ordered consciousness lacks meaning.”
— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Napoleon Hill is said to have stated, “It’s not what
you are going to do, but it’s what you are doing now that
counts.” Many of us have what could be termed “someday
syndrome.” Succinctly stated, we pass up opportunities to
do things that could enhance the quality of our lives right now,
preferring to put it off to “someday.”
In my lectures to high school and college students who are contemplating
a career in medicine and in particular the field of anesthesiology,
I stress that it is absolutely critical to preserve some nugget
of their individuality throughout their educational and training
processes. In other words, they should continue to pursue family
and outside interests with the same fervor that they devote to
their career. The life that we lead must be one of balance and
concurrence rather than serial pursuits if we are to minimize
stress and maximize life fulfillment.
Why Is It Important to Find and Acknowledge Our Purpose?
As physician anesthesiologists, we are particularly susceptible
to stress. Several factors contribute to this phenomenon, but
most importantly, we are involved in a nonreciprocal relationship
with our patients, putting us in a position to be in emotional
debt as the caregiver. Because we may have little contact or follow-up
with our patients in the operating room, this may further intensify
this experience, leading to loss of empathy, a chronic depersonalization,
emotional exhaustion and burnout. Burnout is dangerous not only
to the caregiver but also to the patient.
Additionally, production pressures appear to be subjectively
increasing. In a frequently cited survey study done on California
anesthesiologists, 49 percent of respondents had witnessed a situation
in which they felt that patient safety was compromised due to
pressure on the anesthesiologist. In this same study, 20 percent
of the respondents agreed with the statement that “If I cancel
a case, I might jeopardize working with that surgeon at a later
date.”
According to the study, “The economic pressures are obvious.
Production pressure also leads to haste, a psychological precursor
to the commission of unsafe acts.”1,2 It
was noted in this study that these and many other stresses were
not particular to either academic practice or private-sector work.
When we are at the point of burnout, which may include such symptoms
as irritability, subpar job performance, substance abuse, dreading
going to work or the feeling that work is a dead-end, it becomes
imperative to make changes to decrease stress and restore some
balance to your life. Not infrequently during such an inventory,
the inevitable question arises, “What is my life purpose
and where am I going?”
What Is Our Purpose in Life and What Makes it Meaningful?
As a basic premise, I believe that our greatest purpose and desire
in life is the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, we often mistake
happiness for success or pleasure. However, we cannot equate happiness
or pleasure from material success to true happiness.
“Strange as it may seem, life becomes serene and enjoyable
precisely when selfish pleasure and personal success are no longer
the guiding goals.
— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, The Evolving
Self:
A Psychology for the Third Millennium
The Dalai Lama states, “True happiness relates more to the
mind and heart. Happiness that depends mainly on physical pleasure
is unstable; one day it’s there, the next day it may not
be.”
How Do I Find My Life Purpose?
It is important to be open to viewing our lives in a totally different
perspective as we pursue what our real life purpose may be. Carol
Adrienne suggests in her book The Purpose of Your Life, several
ideas that may be helpful:
1. “Our purpose is unfolding constantly, although we may
not be aware of it if we are fixated on a certain goal or timing.”
2. “The purpose of our life usually has something to do with
learning how to love more fully, more deeply, more constantly,
more unconditionally.”
3. “The purpose of our life may be to aid the spiritual development
of another.”
4. “The purpose of our life is found in activities where
we lose track of time.”
5. “Our purpose in life is to be, as fully, as present, as
authentically, as we can be.”
A Practical Approach
Practically speaking, it may be helpful to develop a purpose statement.
Items to be included might be: 1) the things that you love to
do, the activities or pursuits that are easy for you; 2) the qualities
that you love about yourself or that those close to you may have
seen in you; and 3) the qualities that you would like to possess,
such as creativity, courage, leadership or artistic or musical
ability.
After compiling this set of data, your goal is to integrate these
elements into a statement of life purpose and to subsequently
let your conclusions show you the way. Being at a point in your
life when you feel that you have hit a brick wall or are sitting
in a rut is not infrequently when people choose to re-evaluate
their life purpose. Bear in mind that you may have little in the
way of emotional reserves for making changes or reassessing your
life. Nonetheless, this exercise may be the most important thing
you will ever do for yourself in terms of living in the present
and not waiting for “someday.”
“Lack of confidence is a crucial point as we feel the
call to make changes in our lifestyle. People may be giving us
messages about our next step, and yet if we lack the confidence
to take action, we cannot take advantage of those messages.”
— Carol Adrienne, The Purpose of Your Life
Some Practical Tools in Your Pursuit of Happiness and Working
Toward Your Life Purpose
The basic premise of simplifying our lives allows us to reach
the core of who we are and what we want. Elaine St. James, in
her book Simplify Your Life, offers us several practical suggestions
for decongesting our lives such that we can concentrate on our
real goal: finding our purpose in life.
• Reduce the clutter in your life.
• Move to a smaller house.
• Drive a simple car.
• Turn off the television.
• Stop junk mail.
• Take a vacation at home.
• Live on half of what you earn, and save
the other half.
• Work where you live or live where you work.
• Do what you really want to do.
• Turn your hobby into a job.
• Trust your intuition.
• If it is not working, stop doing it.
• Stop trying to change people.
• Just say “no.”
In Closing
Those individuals who take the time to examine their life purpose,
follow their intuition and eventually put into practice what they
discover will most assuredly be the happiest individuals and professionals
they can be. This serenity can be infectious. Those who surround
these individuals — your colleagues and your patients —
benefit too.
References:
1. Gaba D, Howard S, Jump B. Production pressure
in the work environment: California anesthesiologists’ attitudes
and experiences. Anesthesiology. 1994; 81:488-500.
2. Gaba D. Patient safety and production pressure:
Anesthesia practice issues. APSF Newsletter. 2001; 16(1):4-5.
Further Reading:
Sotile WM, Sotile MO. The Resilient Physician: Effective Emotional
Management for Doctors and Medical Organizations. 2001 ed. American
Medical Association; 2001.
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Jessie A. Leak,
M.D., is Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology
and Department of Symptom Control and Palliative Care, M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. |
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