What do you do when you are bored?

I was drawn to medicine and becoming a doctor because I loved Biology. Medical school was a deeper dive into learning about the humans and their bodies. I was studying life and preparing to make a real difference with mine. 

Even as a pathology resident, I remember how I loved going through stacks of old slides cases, looking for that obscure, rare tumor. I would then research its name, find out where it arose, and which people were more at risk to come down with it.

But once I started working full-time, looking at those same slides became a daily grind. I sat non-stop at my desk, looking at slide after slide of cells, biopsies, and organ resections. This was something I figured I would do for the rest of my life. After a while, though, it wasn’t good enough. I got bored. 

I welcomed distraction. I wished for an escape. I was making more money than I ever had, so I traveled, went to fancy restaurants, and met lots of interesting people. 

My real BIG distraction and indulgence came in residential real estate investing. I sunk so much time and money into bad real estate investments. The more money I made from my doctor’s job, the more real estate I bought. And the deals kept coming. And the investments kept taking more time and money than they ever gave back. But I kept on buying.

My hubby was the one who finally rescued me from my real estate madness. He helped me stop this buying frenzy.  

As I reflect, real estate was an escape. I felt like a mogul. It was fun and exciting compared to my dull day job. 

But this makes me think about Julia Cameron and her Artist’s Way. She describes a need for creative recovery. It is a call for withdrawal. A creative withdrawal from a life you worked so hard to create yet paradoxically pushes you out.

But instead of a push, have you considered a pull-out?

To learn more about creating a vacuum that pulls you forward, contact me at calendly.com/zeldaokia.