“Yesterday, I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.
Today, I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi
My “yesterday” feels like a different life.
As an Emergency Physician, my role was clear: help, fix, respond. Every day, I cared for people in urgent, often life-altering moments. There was no time to pause, no space to turn inward. My focus was always on the person in front of me—what they needed, how I could help, how quickly I could act.
And when I went home, that didn’t change. I shifted from caring for patients to caring for my family. I was always in motion, always giving, always doing.
That was my identity.
Until my body forced me to stop.
Living with chronic illness changed everything. Not gradually—but completely. I could no longer rely on the same pace, the same energy, the same way of showing up in the world. And for the first time, I had to face something I had spent years avoiding:
Focusing on myself… emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
Through my research, I recognized that what I needed to strengthen was emotional resilience, tolerance for the unknown, and a spiritual connection to guide me.
These are 3 of the 8 skills in my book, Common Wisdom. They are not always easy for me. There is a kind of humility in no longer being the one who has all the answers even though I never really had them.
But this is where Wisdom begins.
So today, I want to offer you the same reflection I’ve had to sit with:
Where in your life are you still trying to do it all?
