#193: Special Episode, Interview On The Totally Well Podcast With Joyce Strong

For episode #193 I present a special episode where I am interviewed by Joyce Strong from the Totally Well podcast. Joyce is a nurse, health and mindset coach. She helps individuals become their best selves! I had the great opportunity to speak to her about several topics that I will mention below.  The episode begins with a discussion of rock climbing. I really enjoy climbing because it really allows me to get lost in the present moment and focus on the problem at hand. Life can be really daunting and scary, it’s nice to look at something, figure it out, and climb the damn thing. I often find that when I can climb more difficult things and stretch my literal muscles, I can stretch farther in my own ability as a person. Maybe that sounds too cheesy, but I really feel that way. We then move on to discuss the difference between a D.O. and an M.D. The main difference is a philosophical change from focusing care on specific treatments for a specific ailment, as opposed to considering the overarching and holistic causes that lead to disease. Both M.D.’s and D.O.’s do this naturally, but it is emphasized more in osteopathic training. Additionally, we learn Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment which are hands-on techniques that emphasize the body’s amazing ability to heal itself and realign. We discuss the origins of The Happy Doc Podcast which I developed after feeling sick and depressed in medical school. I went from feeling in peak physical shape and mind after college, to going into what felt like the worst mental and physical shape of my life. I started this podcast as a way to learn from great examples and inspire others to improve their ability to achieve their personal success and happiness. We discuss the top 3 characteristics of the successful. These characteristics include:   Having a core belief that you can achieve a higher level of achievement for yourself. This can be separated further into visualizing the possibility of achieving in the following areas: Mind, Body, Spirit, Heart. It can also include areas such as financial success. This is further broken down in the episode. High-level habits and routines that are performed on a consistent basis. Actions ultimately lead to results and the successful perform effective actions on a consistent and long-term basis. High-level standards. The successful understand that to achieve, you must have a high level of standards in your level to differentiate effective actions and patterns versus ineffective ones. By elevating your standards over time, you create stronger opportunities to better yourself. This is also further broken down in the episode.   We discuss the differences between the emotion mind, the logic mind, and the wise mind. The emotion mind is often the reaction-based mind that takes action that may not be the best for you. We often get stuck in this mind when we feel like we are in a bad place and know we probably shouldn’t be taking the actions we are doing. The logic mind, by contrast, is cold and calculated. It is effective to use in some areas of life, but if we are totally logical, we never get to dive into the joy of our emotions and experience the great parts of being what is human. The wise mind operates from a conscious and calm place and allows one to make a decision from both the logical side and the heart. We also go on to differentiate empathy and compassion in this discussion which is important to consider. We discuss the MedFlashGo project which we have been working on which allows medical students to study more effectively using their voice: MedFlashGo: https://www.amazon.com/MedFlashGo-LLC/dp/B07QRZVDDZ MedFlashGo Podcast: https://anchor.fm/medflashgo/episodes/1-Welcome-To-The-MedFlashGo-Podcast-e5odmm We discuss the perfection mindset and how podcasting can be hard. Who defines perfection? Sometimes the episodes we think are the best and are the most time consuming end up doing horribly (when we look at our stats), and sometimes the episodes we don’t think are very good get way more traction. We discuss my background coming from a Russian, Jewish, Israeli family and how that has impacted me. We talk about the immigrant story and coming from a family that comes from more scarce times. I love being really good and trying to be the best, but if it’s not the best, it’s not good enough. I learned to reframe this thinking into wanting to be my best self so I can help others. By bettering myself I bring inspiration to others and create the opportunity for others to grow as well. We finish the conversation by speaking about happiness. We talk about the importance of being your greatest self-advocate. We need to understand that only you can truly define what it is that you want. When you become more authentic and honest with yourself you gain a greater sense of alignment. That alignment can be felt and experienced by yourself and others. Life becomes better when you finally grab the things you want for you. It is a weird paradox that when you finally fight and believe in yourself, other individuals around you also become better versions of themselves too. By being the inspiration, others becoming inspiring.