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As a mother and a doctor, I know you are sometimes worried and afraid, overwhelmed and overstretched. But your families depend on you to be their foundation. You're imperfect. And that's okay.
Because you are something better.

You're whole, fierce, and unshakeable.

ALL RECENT POSTS:

Mindset

“make the list of non-negotiables really short”

As a busy mother and professional, you’re used to handling a lot of tasks and roles. Even if things aren’t done efficiently, there are still many tasks on your “to-do-list” pile that you tend to own. Am I right? For most of my life, I’ve been the “responsible child.” When I got married, I naturally […]

Mindset

“the mental load”

In some seasons, being a mom takes precedence. In others, your career goals take priority. Or eldercare. Or a crisis. And when the timing is right (enough), the season may be to focus on yourself–to put your personal growth needs first. I’ll state the obvious–yes, men have it easier. Men have it easier because in […]

Mindset

“navigating career transitions–part II”

This is what I did in my outrageous (as I thought) bid to become a documentary photographer. Step #1: I explored different photography offerings in my city. I found the Raymond Chang School of Continuing Studies. The school offered classes that worked well with my half-line of emergency medicine. Step #2: I decided to learn […]

Mindset

“navigating career transitions–part I”

During my MBA, I had the opportunity to work with a career coach. And it was an amazing experience! One of the questions my coach asked me was this: “If you were invited to do a TED talk, what idea would you want to share with the world?” Wow. And you know what? I didn’t […]

Mindset

medicine +

If you’ve followed this blog for any amount of time, you might be familiar with the idea of medicine + Medicine plus motherhood. Medicine plus photography. Medicine plus writing. Medicine plus coaching. “But Dawn, I don’t have hobbies!” No problem, everyone is different. Medicine can be deeply fulfilling. Motherhood can be deeply rewarding. In both […]

Mindset

a big decision

I decided to take a one-year academic sabbatical to focus on my family while building my career as a coach. It’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. For the next year, I will be unemployed from the hospital. I’ve been unemployed before while on my two maternity leaves. But we all know those […]

Work Life Balance

“the simplicity filter”

To summarize it, this is how I map out the approaches to your great life. So, the “easy-no” is where you want to optimize efficiency. The “difficult-no” is where you want to understand your ego, internal validation and shame resilience. The “easy-yes” is where you want to harness the power of rituals and habits with […]

Work Life Balance

“the path unseen”

I’ve told you before how much I hate public speaking. I still get a sense of dread when I have to give a talk. And even more than public speaking, I hate promoting myself. And still, every day I search for opportunities to speak in public and promote the work I do as a coach. […]

Work Life Balance

“a shortcut to finding your purpose”

If you are like most doctors I know, it’s hard to imagine a life outside of the walls of medicine. I get it. It’s a lot of work to be a doctor. It’s a lot of work to maintain your knowledge and practise safely. Just like it’s a lot of work to be a mother/primary […]

Work Life Balance

“the courage to create”

When I was an emergency medicine resident, people asked me “why are you interested in aerospace medicine?” When I was in business school, people asked me “why is a doctor studying business?” When I was in photography school, well…no one really cared what I did for a living in photography school. When I was in […]