Grief, Gratitude, and the Practice of Medicine

As 2023 comes to a close, I have been prompted to think about things.

Yeah, so I didn’t hit all my personal goals. Oh well. I grieved. I’m grateful I get to try again. I get to try again daily, annually, whatever time I allow myself.

I remember I have to give myself grace.

Life is hard!

With grief, it’s a sense of loss. Not just in the personal life do we find grief but also in the professional arena—lack of promotion, lost opportunity, putting too much weight on our identities as physicians.

We forget to be grateful for the beautiful gift of life.

Life is beautiful. It’s not always unicorns and rainbows, but partially cloudy with a bit of opportunity if we have the right vision, mindset, and framing.

With grief, comes gratitude.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be breaking down areas of grief. It’s not just about the death of a loved one or a loss of promotions. It’s also the loss of self, purpose, relationships, missed opportunities, etc.

Why would I want to discuss this?

We need to grieve in order to grow.

We need to grieve in order to process all those feelings—the good, bad, ugly, and beautiful.

Out of the growth, grief, and feelings can come a sense of gratitude, personal growth, and a better self.