Identity Archives - The Happy Philosopher

Reader Mailbag: Should I Be a Radiologist?

The Happy Philosopher — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 16:45:40 +0000

Every now and then readers send me emails with questions about nearly everything. Usually they want advice on what to do about their personal situations. I love to help people, but I feel like detailed responses are an inefficient use of my time since only one person benefits. It dawned upon me that a better …

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Adventures in Burnout: One Physician’s Story

The Happy Philosopher — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 17:24:32 +0000

[Editor’s note: I’m excited to share a guest post with you today from a virtual friend of mine, Vagabond MD. The author is a recovering private practice interventional radiologist (20+ years), a regular reader of my blog, an occasional guest blogger on various physician sites, and a prolific contributor on the White Coat Investor forum …

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The Messy Truth About Privilege

The Happy Philosopher — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 15:33:25 +0000

Privilege I typed a single word onto the page. Privilege. It sat on my screen for several days. I tried to start an article several times, but I simply couldn’t write, which is odd because usually I can get something out, even if it is complete garbage. This time was different though. Maybe …

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Physician Suicide and Identity

The Happy Philosopher — Sun, 26 Mar 2017 16:31:48 +0000

Physician suicide and identity I was out of town, working for several days at a remote hospital. It was about an hour after I finished work. The day was typical, busy but manageable. I was in a very good place in my life. I was about 6 months into my part-time experiment, and …

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Burnout is Not Bullshit

The Happy Philosopher — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 17:23:33 +0000

Recently I’ve been stumbling across more and more articles about physician burnout. It is a trendy term to use these days and I think a pretty darn good one. It was first used in the field of psychology in 1974 by Herbert Freudenberger, and the meaning has evolved over time. Social psychologists Christina Maslach and …

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You are Replaceable. Congratulations!

The Happy Philosopher — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 01:36:45 +0000

Yes, you heard me right. You are replaceable. And this should be a relief to you. Many times we feel the work we do is so unique and that without it the company/industry/economy/world will fall apart without us. I believed this at one point, but in reality this is all a grand delusion. At first, …

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Happy Philosopher: The Backstory

The Happy Philosopher — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 04:52:29 +0000

My ideas and philosophies did not develop in a vacuum, and the context of my life will likely make my writing more meaningful to you, so here is a cliff-notes version of my story. Note that the human mind is notoriously poor at accurately remembering events so this reality is my reality, but it …

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How to Live a Life of Quiet Desperation

The Happy Philosopher — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 23:58:30 +0000

Most of us will get there soon enough just by doing what we are doing. Or perhaps you have been living it for some time now and wonder how it came to this. The lucky few who have escaped can read on with bemusement. Thoreau put it so brilliantly: The mass of men lead …

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How Embracing Insignificance Can Improve Your Life

The Happy Philosopher — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 15:38:14 +0000

A problem with the human mind is its difficulty realizing how insignificant it is on a cosmic scale. Much of our suffering comes from our attachment to outcomes we deem good or bad. Outcomes that matter. We worry about who we will marry, how much money we make, how successful our career will be, …

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Be What You Are

The Happy Philosopher — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 15:00:23 +0000

Be what you are, not what you do. The first question a stranger asks us at a party is usually “So, what do you do?” They are specifically asking what you do for a living, or alternatively phrased “What activity to you trade your life energy for that gives you money in return”. Why is …

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