My “To-Be” List…

My dearest readers,

We are all very familiar with the organizational benefits of keeping a to-do list, not to mention the sense of accomplishment that one feels when one strikes through an item on a list once it is done. As someone who loves lists, I was intrigued when I read about the idea to keep a different type of list in a book I recently bought, entitled “Everyday Mindfulness: 365 Ways to a Centred Life”. One of the daily suggestions featured in the book was to keep a running “to-be” list – a list focused on putting into words our goals for “being”. In other words, who do we want and hope to be, how to we want to be? As I set out to start what promises to be a challenging month in my medical residency training, I took a few moments this morning to start a “to-be” list. Here is what I added so far…what does your “to-be” list include?

“To-be” list – November 2017

To be driven by faith in place of fear, by love in place of hate, by understanding in place of ignorance

To be comfortable with the uncertainty of tomorrow, the understandings of times past, realizing that the present moment is to be valued and is fully in my reach

To forever be a work in progress, focusing on the growth that each experience brings, being kind to myself as the pieces settle into place

To be a catalyst for change in a world whose harsher sides are ever so apparent, all while choosing to continue seeing the beauty and good in humanity

To be a believer in the magic that can be born of being so passionate about something, that that passion is transformed into one’s gift to the world

To be courageous in the feat of building the life that I dream of, so that I may build a life that I am not only proud of, but can fall in love with each and every day

To be brave in the face of challenge, realizing that strength is resilience – that I may bend in the face of hardship, but I will not fold

To be myself above all other things…

 

5 Reasons Why Being A Mentor Is Important For Career & Personal Development

My dearest readers,

“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” ~ Steven Spielberg

This quote captures the role of a mentor as a catalyst for inspiring the development of a mentee into exactly who he or she is meant to be!!

We are often cognizant of the many reasons for which having a positive mentor and role model in our lives is a smart and worthwhile step to take in the areas of career and personal development. A less explored area of career development is, in turn, the positive aspects of being a mentor itself.

Being a role model and mentor for someone is not only a smart career development strategy, but is highly fulfilling as well! Here are five reasons why being a mentor is the right step to take when seeking success and meaning in one’s field of work.

1. Working with motivated mentees can be an unequivocal source of inspiration!

Mentees can be a great source of inspiration because they are motivated to learn and develop themselves, thirsting for new knowledge and excited about their growth on both a professional and personal basis. Picture someone who is seeking mentorship as they are embarking on a new career path, a time where one is not only extremely passionate about the profession one has chosen, but also inquisitive and ambitious. As a mentor, working with someone with such attributes can be extremely motivating in and of itself, and it can serve as a reminder for a mentor of why they originally chose their profession. The interaction between mentor and mentee can ultimately produce a dynamic and energizing synergy … explore the possibilities!!

2. Being a mentor often requires one to be on top of the latest in one’s field of work!

Acting as a mentor can be a great opportunity to ensure that one is on top of the latest in one’s field of work. Providing up-to-date guidance and advice to a mentee may require a mentor to keep up their own competencies and knowledge base. Thus mentoring can be a great incentive and motivation to stay current and at the forefront of one’s profession.

3. Being a sharer of advice and guidance, rather than a hoarder of information, is fulfilling from a humanistic point of view!

The opportunity to be able to share one’s life experiences, advice, and guidance with someone else can be highly fulfilling and rewarding from a personal point of view. Mentorship is a beautiful form of human connectivity, propagating a culture of giving and sharing, rather than one that encourages personal gains and selfish goals. Helping others is a great way of gaining meaning from one’s everyday doings and thus achieving emotional wellness.

4. Being able to mentor and teach others is a transferable and marketable skill!

To be a successful mentor, one must develop strong competencies in many areas, including communication, coaching, collaboration, and emotional intelligence. In light of this, the ability to teach and mentor others is one which requires constant personal growth and development on the part of the mentor, and thus results in the generation of many transferable and marketable skills. Having experience as a mentor also speaks to one’s ability to be a strong team player and reveals someone who is capable of fostering a positive work and learning environment, all of which are positive attributes on the job market.

5. Developing oneself as a mentor allows one to pass on advice and skills to a new generation of colleagues, allowing for a personal sense of legacy!

We all seek meaning and fulfillment from the work we do. Being able to pass on one’s skills and knowledge is a form of leaving a lasting and sustainable difference; a legacy of sorts. Once again, the ability to be a mentor not only allows you to grow your career, but allows you to grow personally as well, allowing a flavor of emotional wellness and a rewarding culture of community and collegiality to develop itself.

p.s. My dearest readers, see the original article which I wrote for Stilettos on the Glass Ceiling at http://stilettosontheglassceiling.com/2015/03/5-reasons-why-being-a-mentor-is-important-for-career-personal-development-by-maria-psihogios.html

Flamenco & Tapas…Why Mindfulness does not Always have to be Quiet!

My dearest readers,

Yesterday evening I found myself completely and utterly captivated by a Spanish Flamenco Performance that I was attending with my friends. The rhythmic clapping of hands and stomping of the dancers’ heels, the soulful voice of the lead singer, the flawless journey that the guitarist’s fingers took on his Spanish guitar, creating the most heart-warming rhythms….these sounds echoed in the venue, creating an atmosphere of contagious energy. An energy that left the audience swaying in their seats, red wine and tapas in hand, experiencing the art form before them with not only their senses, but their souls. To be so present in the moment, to be so aware of the sounds and sights in one’s environment, to be so receptive to the captivating nature of the experience in which one finds themselves, is to be very much mindful of an experience.

I believe, my dearest readers, that we sometimes automatically and unconsciously equate mindfulness with quiet and reflective experience of a moment. However, there is something to be said for the experiences that lend themselves equally well to mindfulness, but that are not the least bit “quiet”. The moments where mindfulness ends up allowing our souls to be livened, rejuvenated and awakened; experiences like witnessing a flamenco dance performance full of unmatched energy and passion! The type of experiences that are so metaphorically “loud” that they leave you speechless and breathless, yet at the same time so full of life.

May we live for all types of mindfulness; for the quiet experience of a moment and for the moments that we experience in the loudest way possible.

Que disfrutan de la vida!!

p.s. follow positively profession-elle @mpsihogios on Twitter!

A Mini-Vacation in the Snow…How I Embraced the Canadian Winter!

My dearest readers,

Last weekend I embarked on a much-needed mini-vacation to Mont Tremblant with a group of my closest friends. Although short in its duration, the trip left me feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.

Full of laughter, cozy socks & sweaters, and adventures in the snow, the trip was exactly what my soul needed and reminded me of just how much we sometimes need a small break from our daily lives to re-discover our sense of joie-de-vivre!

After a hectic month of travelling for medical residency interviews and a frigid winter season of freezing temperatures and limited sunshine, I was thirsting for not only a way to unwind, but also a way to make what is left of the winter cold a bit more tolerable. A mini-vacation to a cozy chalet was the perfect solution!

The trip allowed me the opportunity to be especially mindful of the unique beauty that winter actually has to offer. My day to day encounters with winter usually involve running in the cold from one building to the other, waiting for delayed buses during frequent snowfalls, and frozen toes from wearing boots that are far more fashionable than practical. Bundled up properly for the weather and amongst great company and the beauty of a quaint ski village, this mini-vacation allowed me to instead appreciate the charm of the Canadian winter. I experienced the exquisiteness of snowflake formation on eyelashes, the majestic allure of snow-covered ski hills, the crisp glamour of a frigid breeze, and the whimsical artistry of colored lights reflecting off of a frozen landscape.  

The trip allowed me the opportunity to nurture my sense of joie-de-vivre; despite cold temperatures the weekend was abounding with warmth from good company, shared meals, endless laughs and spontaneous adventures….true warmth for the soul! 

My dearest readers, the infamous Canadian Winter can sometimes be harsh and abrasive; the frigid temperatures can be taxing and the endless snowfall often causes us to forget the excitement and novelty of the very first snowfall of the year. Although a vacation in the sun may be beyond attractive, a mini-vacation in the snow can also accomplish a great deal for the soul.

Essentially a way to embrace the Canadian winter, a mini-vacation in the snow may be exactly what you need this season…leaving your fingers and toes a bit cold, but your soul and heart as warm as can be!

What if “balance” was allowed to be messy?

My dearest readers,

Balance…what does it really mean? What does it mean to lead a balanced life, find your balance, or be off-balance?

What I’ve come to appreciate over the years is that achieving “balance” is ultimately a dynamic concept….variable not only in its meaning to each and every one of us, but also evolving from one moment to the next for any given individual.

There exist days that I feel invincible, seamlessly transitioning from one task to the next, “balancing” everything on my plate with ease and even with some extra time for “me”. There are other days that I can describe as hectic and chaotic at best; days that leave me slightly disheveled. Yet, is there potential for the latter type of day to also represent “balance”?

We have come to think of balance as neat…prim and proper. What if “balance” was allowed to be messy too? What if “balance” was more about embracing the chaos when it is present, seeking out opportunities for growth within life’s challenges, and adapting to the ever changing journey we call a lifetime? What if “balance” was more about finding one’s “happy place” within a given moment?

There have been times in life when I have found myself at peace sipping a coffee in front of a calm lake. There have been other days where I found an equal amount of inner peace at a loud dinner table with my immediate and extended family…somehow the mess of voices screaming over each other, platters of food being passed around and jokes being shared with accompanying laughing fits being the exact chaos that my spirit was craving in the moment. Although these are simple examples, in juxtaposition I feel that they illustrate the vast variability of situations that can all equally provide us with a sense of “balance” in their own rite.

Perhaps balance is ultimately all about being in touch with what our spirit craves at a given moment and about finding one’s happy place given a day’s happenings. A work in progress that, in and of itself, results in an inherent sense of “balance” because it results in personal growth and getting to know one’s self.

There is a certain comfort in the notion that the definition of “balance” is your’s to create, discover and foster. Here’s to “balance” being truly about getting to know one’s self….a beautiful synergy of mess, peace, chaos, complexity, resilience, vulnerability and growth.

Greece…still a land of philosophers

My dearest readers,

Over a year and a half ago I had the privilege and luxury of spending 2 beautiful and awe-inspiring months in Greece; an experience that fed my soul in more ways than I can even begin to put into words. An experience that left me speechless multiple times per day…I was enveloped in an existence that allowed me to wander without ever feeling lost…where every landscape, sound, smell and taste left me feeling increasingly grateful for the beautiful world in which we live.

It is during my first few days in Greece that I found myself thinking,”no wonder this was once the land of philosophers.” The pure magic of the place and dynamic nature of the people and their interactions with one another created for the perfect catalyst of philosophical thought and innovation. Yet, it was over the course of my time in Greece, from that point forward, that I realized that Greece was still vibrantly a land of philosophers…that philosophy still emanated from this beautiful country I was whole-heartedly experiencing.

It all began one afternoon as I took a taxi from my accommodations to the regional hospital where I was doing an international medical elective. I exited the taxi having learned more about life, love, passion and existence that I could ever learn from reading a book. The taxi driver was a retired business owner who drove a taxi a couple of times a week to make some extra money in order to supplement his pension. He turned out to be one of the most inspirational and insightful people I have ever had the honour of meeting. During the 20 minute ride he spoke of finding happiness in the small delights of life, of the importance of falling in love with someone’s mind, of the peace that one can experience in truly embracing the beauty hidden within the chaos and messiness of life. I thought to myself…here I have experienced a discussion with a true philosopher in every sense of the word…at the most unexpected of times.

I learned, during my summer in Greece, that the Greek people had a thirst for exploring the truly abstract virtues of life. They were interested in discussing what was meant by love, passion, faith and hope. They enjoyed quoting authors, their songs spoke to the feelings of the human soul, they questioned the meaning of life concepts that we often take for granted in our hectic lives. These informal and natural discussions and expressions of philosophy were exchanged between friends. It was an inevitable occurrence in many ways…how could one gaze upon the Acropolis, sail on the Aegean, or explore an uncharted path in a village without having their inner philosopher come alive?

I had some of the most interesting conversations of my life while in Greece. During our hectic lives we sometimes don’t realize how superficial our conversations can be. What I learned in Greece was the importance of sometimes deepening our conversations to explore the thoughts, feelings and virtues of life and its meaning; the very things that we find hardest to put into words.

Barefoot Bachata – Giving your mind permission to let go…

“Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of travelling.” – Margaret Lee

I remember being on my way to dinner when the sunset in the distance, painted with the most vibrant shades of citrus orange, deep red, lighthearted pink and mellow yellow, caught my eye. I was instantaneously drawn to the sight. As my feet hit the sand I instinctly removed my sandals, feeling the cool sand between my toes. The sun was soft, creating a blanket of warmth. Its rays shone on the Caribbean Sea, creating a scintillating light show. The moment took my breath away and I finally began to feel the calmness of vacation settling in; a calmness that I yearned for and hoped for.

My dearest readers, I was fortunate enough to travel to Cuba a week ago as I had the week off from clinical training at the hospital. I came back feeling so refreshed and rejuvenated; the experience re-inspired a certain joie-de-vivre in me, a thirst for life that I had not lost per say, but that had somewhat dwindled amidst months of hectic schedules, deadlines, taxing experiences and challenges. No matter how passionate we may be about what we do in life, I think we all need and deserve a true break once in a while; a break that allows us to feed our minds and bodies in a way that allows us to come back to what we do with more drive, enthusiasm, energy and strength.

The mind is an amazingly intricate thing; while it accomplishes great things it also, almost selflessly, is the last to allow itself to truly rest and let go of its responsibilities. While on vacation, I’ve always found it easier to achieve a restful state in the physical sense than the mental sense. It is easy to catch up on sleep, fill one’s lungs with fresh air, feel the benefits of the salt water on one’s skin and the opening of one’s appetite…and yet, one’s mind takes much longer to truly let go. It was a struggle for me at first; my mind would fight the urge to lose myself in my new environment. I would drift into a state of mindfulness and blissful oblivion of life’s stresses, only to once again find myself thinking about all the work that awaited me post-vacation. However, as each day of vacation passed by, I began feeling increasingly detached from the worries and stresses of work and school back home. My mind, in a sense, had no choice. My soul and all my senses were being fed with rich and beautiful experiences; the succulent taste of fresh mango, the sound of bachata music mimicking the flow of waves, the laughter and chatter of the locals, the night sky that seemed to be falling closer and closer to the earth because of the sheer weight of light entrapped in each and every engorged star. All I had to do was make myself fully available to the present, to experiencing every given moment.

Sometimes, we need to figuratively give permission to our minds to wander…to let go of the worries and stresses of tomorrow. Only then, by validating the need to let go, can we truly experience the present moment. We deserve vacations, for our minds’ sake. We deserve to feed our minds so as to return to our everyday lives with a rejuvenated thirst for life itself…a re-ignited passion for what we do.

You need not travel far away to give your mind the vacation it yearns for. A couple of days or sometimes even hours, in a beautiful place, experiencing beautiful things, is all one needs at times. My dearest readers, I wish you all the opportunity to let your minds wander…happy vacationing, in every sense of the word!

Inspirational Young Female Professionals Series #6: Miss Anonymous Lawyer!!

Good afternoon my dearest readers! Hope you are all having a great weekend thus far!

It is with great pleasure that today positively profession-elle continues its “Inspirational Young Female Professionals Series”!!! This is something I continue to be very excited about as it will allow us all to explore strategies for achieving balance in life and gain great insight into fostering meaningful educational and professional careers, through the eyes of some very special and inspirational women!

Without further ado, I would like to introduce you all to Miss Anonymous Lawyer! For confidentiality reasons our featured guest today would like to keep her identity anonymous, however, in light of this, you may in fact find yourself even more easily able to put yourself in her shoes. She is a young lawyer who is truly passionate about what she does and I am sure her truly down-to-earth take on work-life balance and personal fulfillment will leave you feeling inspired and motivated!

Take a look at what she had to say! Enjoy the read!

1) “I’ve learned that making a living is not the same as making a life.” ~ Maya Angelou How has your career path allowed you to find fulfillment and purpose in your life beyond simply ‘making a living’? How has your career allowed you to ‘make a life’?

Not many would say that the Maya Angelou quote applies to the life of an attorney, but I most definitely would. Attorneys, all too often, get a bad rap… that we like to argue, that we lie, that we only care about making money… however, I believe that there are just a few bad apples ruining our profession’s reputation for the rest of us. There are attorneys out there doing great things for great people. I find a great deal of fulfillment in my career, and I receive a lot of gratitude from clients for the work that I do. A large percentage of my practice is adoption, and I think it is easy to say that you would be hard to find a more fulfilling concentration in the practice of law. Adoptions cases usually come to me accompanied by a sad story, however, by the end it is no longer a sad story but an uplifting one with all parties in a better situation from where they started, especially the child. It doesn’t get much better than that.

2) What brings balance to your life?

Not too long ago, I learned how to turn down cases, and I’ve been happier ever since. When I first started practicing I would take any case that came my way, especially if it was accompanied by a sad story (which they all are). I slowly started to realize that I was being naive and that people were trying to take advantage of me and my willingness to help. It was hard at first as I didn’t want to upset anyone or have them think that I didn’t want to help them, but simply stated, not every case is the best for me to handle, nor is every client that walks in the door. I spent a lot of time trying to make certain clients happy that I knew would never be happy regardless of the result. Once I began to be more selective, I had much more time to enjoy the cases that I had and my personal life too.

3) Was there a special person, mentor, moment or experience in your past that you drew inspiration from in order to persevere and achieve success in your professional life?

A few years into practicing law as an associate at a local law firm, my boss abruptly decided to retire. At that point, in order to keep the clients that I had at the time, I felt like my only choice was to practice solo until I found another firm to work for. Local attorneys, solo practitioners, rallied behind me. They sent me clients, helped me with forms, and helped me learn how to manage my office. Without their help I would have had a much tougher time figuring things out on my own. After a few weeks, I realized that I didn’t need to work for someone else, that I could easily do it all on my own. I would have to say that the local community helped me realize that.

4) What advice would you give Positively Profession-elle readers?

When my boss decided to retire, I felt so devastated and betrayed, but in the end it was a blessing. I don’t know if I ever would have opened my own office if I hadn’t felt like I was forced. My advice would be to find the blessings in everyday challenges.