The conversation of physician wellness includes self-care and self-care practices.

As a practicing physician, I adopted many self-care practices as the vehicle to restore peace and connect to the flow of life.

One practice has taken center stage for me, creating the pattern interrupt needed to get back in the flow of life when faced with stress and overwhelm.

My morning routine, whether I am waking up at home or in the hospital on a 24-hr shift, is to carve out a few minutes to Set The Intention for my day. How do I want to feel as the day unfolds? What are my priorities for the day? Who is part of this beautiful creation?

This practice, done on most mornings, changes everything.

But it wasn’t always this way. I’ve been there. There were times when traffic on the way to the hospital would make me late for the shift, and the day spiraled out of control from there. I didn’t know how to recapture the positive energy I yearned for back then.

A bad day could turn into a bad overnight shift that spilled into the next day and everything I did. Not a good place to be.

So do these self-care practices really work? Do they make a difference in one’s life and career?

When life is going well, it may not be so easy to tell. It’s when life happens and challenges arise that we get to put it to the test.

And here’s what happened.

A boundary gets pushed. I get triggered. I complained and let it go, or so I thought.

There I was about to walk into the hospital when I noticed I was still upset. I didn’t feel good, not physically ill, but energetically. I was still holding the energetic burden from the event that happened almost two hours earlier.

I knew the power this energy could have on me. Heck, it could mess up a great day.

There is a decision to be made.

Do I allow this energy to take hold, or is something else available?

I remembered the intention I set for the day but couldn’t connect to it. Not yet.

Grace.

Grace was available to me at that moment.

Grace allowed me to be upset and be OK without making myself, the other person, or the situation wrong.

Grace allowed me to walk through the hospital entrance feeling better than when I parked my car.

And grace created the opening to find the ease and flow I desire when I set the intention for my day.

Stephanie Wellington is a physician and can be reached at Nurturing MDs.