Comments on: You Can Always Do More http://www.happinessinthisworld.com/2010/02/21/you-can-always-do-more/ Reflections of a Buddhist Physician Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:49:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Lisa Plank http://www.happinessinthisworld.com/2010/02/21/you-can-always-do-more/#comment-4965 Lisa Plank Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:47:40 +0000 http://www.happinessinthisworld.com/?p=4477#comment-4965 I stumbled on your website, and have been impressed with your insight, and the clarity with with you are able to distill complicated issues into simple concepts. However, after reading several articles I had to comment on this post. You struck truly to the heart of me with this issue, as I have struggled to find a personal balance with this. I am a nurse practitioner in a small rural community of 600 people, I live, send my kids to school, buy groceries, and worship in the small community I practice in. I find it very difficult to put limits on where my practice intersect with my personal life. I have set some limits; I do not refill prescriptions in the grocery store, and I will not discuss your test results with you at the Christmas concert. You need to call my office, which is always politely reinforced. However, at times I feel bad, or guilty about not always being available to the community. This post with its gentle encouragement helps me feel confident that my boundaries are appropriate, and that I need not feel bad; in fact, I may be doing a greater service to the community by being consistent and strictly maintaining confidentiality. Thank you for your insight! I am impressed, and will be back to read more! <blockquote><em><strong>Lisa</strong>: I'm glad you found my post helpful. Your experience as a caretaker is quite common, I think. We often feel more guilty about what we don't do and the boundaries we set than good about what we do accomplish. I think you're right on target when you say you're "doing a greater service to the community by being consistent and strictly maintaining confidentiality." Alex</em></blockquote> I stumbled on your website, and have been impressed with your insight, and the clarity with with you are able to distill complicated issues into simple concepts.

However, after reading several articles I had to comment on this post. You struck truly to the heart of me with this issue, as I have struggled to find a personal balance with this. I am a nurse practitioner in a small rural community of 600 people, I live, send my kids to school, buy groceries, and worship in the small community I practice in. I find it very difficult to put limits on where my practice intersect with my personal life. I have set some limits; I do not refill prescriptions in the grocery store, and I will not discuss your test results with you at the Christmas concert. You need to call my office, which is always politely reinforced. However, at times I feel bad, or guilty about not always being available to the community. This post with its gentle encouragement helps me feel confident that my boundaries are appropriate, and that I need not feel bad; in fact, I may be doing a greater service to the community by being consistent and strictly maintaining confidentiality.

Thank you for your insight! I am impressed, and will be back to read more!

Lisa: I’m glad you found my post helpful. Your experience as a caretaker is quite common, I think. We often feel more guilty about what we don’t do and the boundaries we set than good about what we do accomplish. I think you’re right on target when you say you’re “doing a greater service to the community by being consistent and strictly maintaining confidentiality.”

Alex

]]> By: Jen Gresham http://www.happinessinthisworld.com/2010/02/21/you-can-always-do-more/#comment-4645 Jen Gresham Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:21:17 +0000 http://www.happinessinthisworld.com/?p=4477#comment-4645 Alex, Just stumbled upon your blog (quite literally) and found this post resonated with me. I think all capable, giving people worry they are not answering the call for help often enough. Of course, there are those professions who help others nearly everyday, not just in the face of tragedy or disaster (physicians being one, teachers another) and society does not give them the wreaths of thanks they very much deserve. There are an infinite number of ways to serve! Jen <blockquote><em><strong>Jen</strong>: So true. Glad to have you. Alex</em></blockquote> Alex,
Just stumbled upon your blog (quite literally) and found this post resonated with me. I think all capable, giving people worry they are not answering the call for help often enough. Of course, there are those professions who help others nearly everyday, not just in the face of tragedy or disaster (physicians being one, teachers another) and society does not give them the wreaths of thanks they very much deserve. There are an infinite number of ways to serve!

Jen

Jen: So true. Glad to have you.

Alex

]]> By: Michael Muryn http://www.happinessinthisworld.com/2010/02/21/you-can-always-do-more/#comment-4263 Michael Muryn Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:06:02 +0000 http://www.happinessinthisworld.com/?p=4477#comment-4263 I strongly agree with this article. There is always something more to do (like there is more than enough movies to see, books to read, recipes to try, activities, etc. to fulfill a whole life). We cannot do everything. We cannot be everything. It is also our life, so we have to also take care of ourselves. Else, we cannot help others. However, if the size of the impact you have is important for you, then you might want to choose to do the things that create the most value for others for your time. That, of course, also imply to say NO to a lot of stuff. It is simply a choice and you try to do the best one. An article that remind me of this value creation concept is "Adding Value" by Ole Eichhorn: http://w-uh.com/posts/030917-adding_value.html I strongly agree with this article. There is always something more to do (like there is more than enough movies to see, books to read, recipes to try, activities, etc. to fulfill a whole life). We cannot do everything. We cannot be everything. It is also our life, so we have to also take care of ourselves. Else, we cannot help others.

However, if the size of the impact you have is important for you, then you might want to choose to do the things that create the most value for others for your time. That, of course, also imply to say NO to a lot of stuff. It is simply a choice and you try to do the best one.

An article that remind me of this value creation concept is “Adding Value” by Ole Eichhorn:
http://w-uh.com/posts/030917-adding_value.html

]]> By: Julie http://www.happinessinthisworld.com/2010/02/21/you-can-always-do-more/#comment-4217 Julie Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:32:28 +0000 http://www.happinessinthisworld.com/?p=4477#comment-4217 I want to thank you for this post. I am a medical student in my last year, choosing a specialty and really reflecting on how I want to practice medicine. I keep coming to the same thought---I want to do everything. I want to prevent and cure cancer, I want to help the healthy and the very sick, I want to heal both psychological and physical disease and ills. I am slowly coming to the realization that, while I can strive for this, I will not be able to fully help every one of my patients, single-handedly. I have also reflected that sometimes the best help is to refer a patient to someone who may be more qualified to help them better. It is also strangely comforting to think that I will feel this pull to do more for the rest of my life. I think it allows me to strive for a balance where I am doing the most I can while still feeling fulfilled, instead of thinking that there is an end goal of having truly done everything I can and should do. Thank you again for an especially relevant post for me at this time in my life. I want to thank you for this post. I am a medical student in my last year, choosing a specialty and really reflecting on how I want to practice medicine. I keep coming to the same thought—I want to do everything. I want to prevent and cure cancer, I want to help the healthy and the very sick, I want to heal both psychological and physical disease and ills. I am slowly coming to the realization that, while I can strive for this, I will not be able to fully help every one of my patients, single-handedly. I have also reflected that sometimes the best help is to refer a patient to someone who may be more qualified to help them better. It is also strangely comforting to think that I will feel this pull to do more for the rest of my life. I think it allows me to strive for a balance where I am doing the most I can while still feeling fulfilled, instead of thinking that there is an end goal of having truly done everything I can and should do. Thank you again for an especially relevant post for me at this time in my life.

]]> By: Should You Always Do More, Or Is Less Sometimes Enough? « Vision Powered Coaching Visitors Center http://www.happinessinthisworld.com/2010/02/21/you-can-always-do-more/#comment-4185 Should You Always Do More, Or Is Less Sometimes Enough? « Vision Powered Coaching Visitors Center Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:53:04 +0000 http://www.happinessinthisworld.com/?p=4477#comment-4185 [...]  I just read a good blog post by Alex Lickerman on the blog, Happiness In This World-Reflections of a Buddhist Physician .  The title of the post is  “You Can Always Do More”.  I want to thank him for [...] [...]  I just read a good blog post by Alex Lickerman on the blog, Happiness In This World-Reflections of a Buddhist Physician .  The title of the post is  “You Can Always Do More”.  I want to thank him for [...]

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