DR. SAUNDRA

D A L T O N - S M I T H

P H Y S I C I A N | R E S E A R C H E R | A U T H O R | S P E A K E R

HELPING HIGH-ACHIEVERS RESHAPE THEIR VIEW ON CHANGE, COMMUNICATION, AND SELF-CARE TO OPTIMIZE THEIR EFFECTIVENESS

DPM: CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE JOURNEY TO BECOMING SUCH AN ADVOCATE FORFINDING REST?

Dr Saundra: About 10 years into practicing medicine, I started to burn out. I had two toddlers and worked 60-hour weeks. I was tired all the time, had nondescript body aches and pains for which there was no solid medical reason, and never felt I was fully present in any given time. I thought, “Okay, this can't be normal. This can't be the best God has for me. ” I felt like all the work I’d done was not really taking me to a place I wanted to go. I started to evaluate my life, try to figure out what brought me to this place. I decided there must some kind of flip side of that would take me somewhere else and began to figure out what that looked like. My work load continued to require 60-hour weeks, but I learned how to rest in the middle of them.

DPM: SO YOU TOOK LONG VACATIONS?

Dr Saundra: When we think of true rest, we assume, “oh, I need to just quit my job and go on

vacations and sabbaticals.

” But in reality, we can’t do that. I’m busy, but I feel rested because I've learned how to have a work/rest ratio. When I'm pouring out, I'm also very mindful of making sure I pour back into myself. I don't feel I'm pouring out any less. I just make an effort to be poured into, more than I was back when I got burned out

DPM: YOUR MISSION IS TO HELP HIGH ACHIEVERS RESHAPE THEIR VIEW ON CHANGE, COMMUNICATION AND SELF-CARE TO OPTIMIZE THEIR EFFECTIVENESS. WHAT DOES THE PROCESS LOOK LIKE?

Dr Saundra: We need to understand the relationship between rest, resilience, and change. Change creates stress. I help people consider how to become more resilient. We can’t control the changes that enter our lives, so we have to learn to grow and build our inner strength. Stress happens whenever there's change. We can't manage change, because we don't have any control over But we can manage our response to change. And part of that response is how well we rest, how well we restore ourselves after we've taken a hit.T H E it. P O W