What You Can Learn from The Happiest Man in Bermuda

In 2012, I went to visit a friend who was doing a six-month locum on the island of Bermuda. Now, doing a locum on a tropical island during a Canadian winter is probably it’s own recipe for happiness. But to my surprise, I discovered something else in Bermuda that has inspired me ever since.

While asking my friend for things to see, one of the first suggestions was to try and see Johnny Barnes.

“Who?” I asked.

“You’ll understand when you see him…trust me”, I was told.

He was described to me as an elderly man who wakes up every morning to stand at a roundabout to wave at the passing cars to tell them “I love you” and to “have a great day”. And he’d been doing it every day for years!

It was this little, beautiful, joyful thing for all involved. I had to admit, it instantly elevated my mood and put a smile on my face. Years later, it’s still one of the most memorable things from my trip.

So I had to read a little bit more about Johnny. Apparently he spent six hours a day, for thirty years standing at this roundabout, for free, in order to brighten people’s day. And the act impacted him as well. He was known as “Mr. Happy Man”, and was considered one of the happiest people on the island.

The man was also beloved on the island of Bermuda. So much so, that a statue was erected in his honour.

Thinking about Johnny a little deeper. There’s a lot that Johnny was doing that each of us can implement to affect our own happiness. Without having to stand on a roundabout.

For more information please visit: https://www.mdhealthyself.com/lessons-from-the-happiest-man-in-bermuda

How Physicians Can Become Self-actualized

What really makes a person complete?

What do we want in our lives, and what is it like to become our best, most fulfilled selves?

In the 1960s, psychologist Abraham Maslow tried to answer this question. This eventually led to his well-known hierarchy of needs. You might be familiar with the pyramid.

 The premise of the theory is that once we fulfill our basic needs (food, water, shelter) and our core emotional needs (love, acceptance, self-esteem), then we can begin to work on the peak of the period.

Self-actualization — trying to become our best selves.

Maslow didn’t truly believe that we progressed in a stepwise fashion. Having to accomplish one level of the pyramid before progressing to another. It’s more a matter of degrees. In other words, one person might have 70 percent of their love needs met, and 80 percent of their safety needs, but still might be 20 percent self-actualized. The more one has met their lower needs, the more attention can be given to higher ones. But it might never be perfect.

So what does it actually mean to be self-actualized?

Well, according to Maslow, self-actualized people are real. They exist in everyday life. As you read this, consider if you know some people who are self-actualized. Often, they exhibit many of the following qualities.

It’s less complicated than you think.

For more information please visit: 
https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2019/12/how-physicians-can-become-self-actualized.html

Do Traumatic Events at Work Impact Our Psychological Well-Being?

                

                           “Could you tell me about a time when an event at work has continued to play on you mind after the shift is over?”

We’ve all got a story or two.

It happens to most of us at some point. Sometimes your work follows you home. A mentor once said that if it hasn’t happened to you in the emergency room, then you simply haven’t worked long enough.

I’ll share a story of mine. Nearing the end of a long night shift. A man in his 50’s, healthy, complaining of chest “burning” that he fully attributed to “heartburn”. This was my first year in practice and a busy night in the ER.

His wife had made him come in and he was seen a week before for the same symptoms. He looked comfortable, had a normal ECG, normal labs and a cardiology appointment in a day and a half. He really wanted to leave. There was a feeling that I should speak to someone about him, a nagging voice, but it was 5 am, I assumed that my colleagues wouldn’t want to see him. Should I call them at 5 am for this? In the end, I sent him home.

I went home shortly after, and when I woke up. I got an email from a colleague.

“Hey man, that guy you sent home came back a couple hours later and had a cardiac arrest in the waiting room. We got him back and he went to the cath lab. Just thought you should know.”

Everything stopped.

It was once of the worst feelings I’ve ever had. An instant “oh my god!” moment.

I dropped everything. Drove straight to the hospital. Made sure the patient was still alive with my own eyes. Apologized profusely. Berated myself endlessly.

And I didn’t sleep properly for the next month. Playing the case over and over in my mind.

For more information please visit:  
https://www.mdhealthyself.com/do-traumatic-events-at-work-impact-our-psychological-well-being