Grounded

I am sure this happens to you too.  You are at a party and a friend introduces you to others you are meeting for the first time.  At some point, they ask 'So what do you  do?'

'So what do you do?'    

When someone asks this question, we often start talking about work and our professional activities. Some may avoid 'talking about work' and go on to talk about what they do with their family.  However, what I learned from Bob Rosen, author of the  New York Times bestselling book Grounded is that both the question and answer are misplaced.

Who you are is not defined by what you do.  For example, my position as president of MHRI or as an academic cardiologist is not who I am.  These are things I do (with passion!) because of who I am.  The things I choose to do (and the manner in which I do it) is a product of who I am.  Yes, the truth is that what you do is driven by who you are and not the other way around.

So who are you? That is what the person at the party meeting you for the first time really wants to know.  

What we learned at our  MHRI Managers' retreat today is that  who you are (the roots of the tree), the part of  you that makes up the components of 'you' (that make you grounded) and allow you to grow (the tree to grow) and become what you have become are based on different domains of health.  These domains include: physical health, emotional health, intellectual health, social health, vocational health and spiritual health. Think about it - if you  don't have physical health, your ability to 'do things' will be impaired.  Same for emotional health and all the others. Knowing yourself in each of these domains helps you become grounded and working on improving these different healths makes your roots stronger so your 'tree' can grow stronger and weather the winds of change. 

These concepts will form the bases for the professional development program called 'MedStar Leader of the Future.'  Over the next few months, I hope to share more information on my perspective on each health domain and the launch of MedStar Leader of the Future program.