What happens when you've done all the right things, built the life you were supposed to build, and something inside you still won't settle?

This episode is for the physician whose inner self feels restless.

You'll hear Ni-Cheng share the raw truth of being diagnosed with breast cancer at 31 and what her body was trying to tell her.

Jessie tells the story of the day she handed in her resignation and felt sick instead of relieved.

You'll meet the concept of expansion anxiety — the feeling that you've lost your mind when really you're just growing — and the idea of jumping into cold water with a life preserver.

You'll leave with permission to stop using struggle as proof of your strength and to let the easy parts be easy.

"There are no shortcuts to a big life. There are many shortcuts to a life that looks big on the outside, but is killing you on the inside." - A line, from Enia Oakes' 108 Notes from a Studio in Oakland, is the heart of this episode.

Pearls of Wisdom

• If you don't choose who you're becoming, circumstances choose for you.

• Not choosing is still a choice.

• Jump but with a life preserver.

• When you feel untethered, it often means you're growing.

• Let the easy parts be easy.

• The person you become will catch you when you fall — if you've taken good care of her.

Reflection Questions

• If you were building your life on purpose starting today, what would stay and what would go?

• Where are you taking shortcuts to a life that looks big but doesn't feel like yours?

• What life preservers do you already have, and what do you still need before we jump?

Closing Invitation

If you are in a season where your old life isn't quite fitting and the new one hasn't yet taken shape, you are not lost — you are in the liminal space where real change happens.

I'd love to support you there through coaching, a retreat, or a free live-stream mindful yoga class.

• 1:1 Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com

• CME Wellness Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats

• Free Live-Stream Mindful Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga

• The PAUSE (my blog): www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog

• Listen to other episodes of the Healing Medicine Podcast page: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/mindful-healers-podcast

Referenced in this episode:

• Episode 261 with Enya Oakes on 108 Notes from a Studio in Oakland

• Jessie's TEDx Talk: What Would Love Do? The Question We're Not Asking

Join Jessie and Ni-Cheng for the Connect in Nature Retreat at Nicasio Creek Farm: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats.

Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.