The Cure to Procastination...Do it Messy

Dr. T  0:00  
Owners of a direct care practice are more likely to experience higher job satisfaction than the insurance based practice. And it's no wonder why direct care is independent of insurance. Patients pay the doctor directly for their expertise, the doctor gets full autonomy in how they care for patients and how they get paid. They have chosen this path with a love of medicine. This is the direct care way. 

Dr. T  0:24  
By listening to this podcast, you may even start to believe that you too can have a successful direct care practice. Come listen with an open mind as I share my personal journey and how I pivoted from an insurance based practice to direct care right in the middle of the pandemic. And the valuable lessons along the way. This podcast may be the very thing you need to revitalize your medical practice. I'm your host, owner of a direct care podiatry practice Dr. Tea Nguyen.

Dr. T  0:52  
So excited to share with you that as of today, this podcast has had over 3000 downloads. That means there are lots of ears listening into the direct care model for private practice. And I'm really excited to be a part of that. And I'm even more excited that you're here with me. Continuing on with this journey. Today's episode is going to be one that's very, very important for you to tune into. Because I know all of us physicians, we have this problem. That's called perfectionism. And this episode is going to talk about a cure for that perfectionism. And you're wondering why why do I need to even consider that? Well, in our training, we were taught to be perfect in everything right? Otherwise it can cause patient harm. So there is a role for trying to get everything right, so that we don't hurt the people who need us. But when it comes to business development and building your private practice, it's a whole nother ballgame. 

Dr. T  1:53  
And I've talked about this in a previous episode, where sometimes we got to do things messy in order to learn. And I'm going to re emphasize that in this episode as well. Recently, I've been admiring all the folks who have been doing podcasting for so many years, it's so many episodes, and they even share their behind the scenes setup of what it looks like. And it's, it's really something that's Pinterest worthy, like it's beautifully done. It's certainly something you want to brag about on social media. But let me tell you what I have set up, I have a house in which every single room has a window, even my walk in closet. So you're gonna hear background noise, like the cars driving through traffic, you're gonna hear my neighbor who wants to play a random instrument throughout the day, with no specific time, you're probably going to hear a little bit of the rain that we have going on, because we're experiencing some flash flooding in Santa Cruz, California. And that is to say that I kind of just decided to show up as I am in doing it all messy, and just giving you value. In each episode that I put together, these podcast episodes, they're actually intended to be imperfect, because it's the best of what I've got right now. 

Dr. T  3:06  
And I know that when I consistently show up, and I hear your feedback, and I keep moving forward, it still has value to you. That's why you're still here. Or this is the first time you're listening in, you're gonna find value in this episode, even on its own if even if you decide not to listen to another podcast that I have. So I know how valuable it is to just do things messy to start with what you have where you have it, instead of having to wait for the perfect time. And I know that I'm getting better at this. And I want to continue to help people who are just like you, who are maybe just a few steps behind me. And you know, the road ahead of you is already paid. That's the purpose of this episode. For this entire podcast, if I had chosen to wait until I got the perfect space, if I set up my room with all of the foam padding, so you don't hear the background noise or if you don't hear the echo that I have going on right now. But if I waited to purchase the perfect microphone, I mean, I'm right now I'm just using what I used to have was a leveler clip. But now I have a wireless microphone that I just got off at Amazon. I mean, I could have waited for an eternity or research all of the technical details of which one would be the perfect product to produce this podcast. I mean, that would have been forever. But the message that I have is so much more important than living in my brain for years to come in nobody to really experience it. 

Dr. T  4:33  
So that's why I chose to be messy. I know that the sound quality isn't the best that it could be. I know that the room I'm in is not the best that it could be. So instead, I just decided to take you on a journey of my life the way that I'm actively living it as it is. I mean sometimes you even hear my daughter violet screaming in the background if she's watching your show or something. And that's my life. My life is imperfect. I'm mother and my wife to a general surgeon, and a business owner of two businesses. And it's this is how I can show up. And this is what I want to share with you that it's totally okay to be exactly who you are. And I've got three reasons why you should also consider showing up exactly as you are and doing it messy. Because number one, when you're creating an audience that you want to build trust with, they want to know that you're imperfect, not that you're imperfect all the time, of course, you don't want to be sloppy, but showing yourself in a way that makes you relatable, that gives you in your audience a common ground that won't grab their attention. 

Dr. T  5:37  
Otherwise, if you show up being perfect all the time, or to perfect, it can come off as manufactured or synthetic. And a lot of people have skepticisms towards that level of perfectionism. So showing up as you are that is what will create a relationship with the people who are looking for your messaging that will build trust in your community in your sphere. And it's really important to have, but you can't do that unless you are vulnerable in your own experiences and are willing to show up and share those stories with people. So that's number one, creating an audience so that they will trust you means showing up as you are the best version of what you are at this moment so that you can be relatable. Number two, when you're doing things messy, it's actually a cure for perfectionism. And you're you might be wondering what's wrong with perfectionism, right? Maybe you thought one time or another that being perfect, or being called a perfectionist was a compliment. But in reality, it could be something that holds you back, because it's really procrastination. And those who procrastinate, are likely experiencing perfectionism. They don't want to complete a task until it's done perfect, and then they just never get it done. So problem with that is you don't want to live in a place of procrastination, because then you never get to do what you want to do, and having to wait for the right time, the right circumstances, the right moments when the stars and the planets all align than your dreams never have the chance to materialize, it just dies with you in your mind. 

Dr. T  7:10  
So to overcome perfectionism will realize that it's just an illusion, because it's never really perfect, right? It might be perfect for you at that moment. But it may not be perfect to your audience, the people you're trying to speak to the patients you're trying to attract to bring into your practice. And don't forget, you may not always be your most ideal client. So what looks good to you may not even look good to them. And so knowing that perfectionism is just an illusion is going to help you get over the idea of having things perfectly designed in order for you to even start a direct care practice. So perfectionism, it's not real, it's just a procrastination of what you need to do in order to get started. And yeah, you're gonna do it messy. Number three, when you show up messy at your best version at the moment, you're actually showing others what is possible and what it actually takes to have what you have there is grit, there is resilience, there's a lot of pain, struggle and adversities. 

Dr. T  8:09  
And these are all things that are character building. This is what gives your life meaning. The best stories are the ones about overcoming challenges. They're never about how somebody got it all perfectly to first try. And then they achieved this insane amount of success. That's not the story, we care to hear about that. That's not what Hollywood movies make into a story, right? We all have a story that's within us. And with that comes with the challenges and how you face them. So those who never had a challenge to overcome or either living a lie, or they're just totally unrelatable and can't be trusted. That's just how it goes us. What about the generation that we leave behind us? What message do we send if we keep saying, Oh, we shouldn't show up until it's all perfect? What lessons are we teaching them? In that case? What lessons can be learned if everything was easy, and there was not a single struggle to overcome right? Is that reality? We know that's not we've struggled a lot, probably before medical school, definitely during medical school, and even in residency, which as you know, if you've heard my previous episode, residency was definitely character building. 

Dr. T  9:13  
For me, it was the most challenging part of my life. And I'm just so envious of people who had a great experience. And you know, it was a dichotomy. For me. I had a fantastic experience. But I also had the most challenging time in residency, but putting them all that together, I did learn great lessons along that and I am so grateful for those experiences.

Speaker 1  9:33  
So if you were to ask me, Would I ever go back to change anything? I would say no, because I don't think I would be who I am. Had I not gone through those hardships, and then overcame them. So why am I sharing this with you? You're wondering, what does this have to do with developing your direct care practice? Well, like every other episode, direct care starts with the quality of your thoughts. It's how you perceive the world and it's your state of mind. I'll be real. It's not been easy all the time in the people. who pull through their direct specialty care practice, they've figured out some stuff that we can learn from. And one very important thing that we all learned is that we will be starting very messy. 

Dr. T  10:10  
So no matter how many lectures we attend, no matter what our mentors have taught us, the real lesson is still in the doing. It's the lessons that happens when you're forced to synthesize all that you've learned all of the academics with hands on training and real life lessons. Do you remember what like, the very first time you had to take a patient's history and physical, I remember when I went to DMU, we had a practicum, where we would have mock interviews with community, people who volunteered their time to act as our patients. And I would be standing there with a clipboard asking all of the questions I could think of, to try to help get to a diagnosis and a treatment plan. And I felt really, really scared. My hands were shaking, I didn't feel like I was getting ready. But the instructors were so kind, they're saying, this is the point, this is you doing it messy now, so that when you get to a real patient, you get more comfortable. And then with time you just do it without having to write on a piece of paper or look at your computer, it all becomes automated. And now in practice, I don't even have to think about what questions to ask because I've done it so many times. 

Dr. T  11:20  
And it's still not perfect, but it's definitely improved and matured with time because I mean, the time to have those experiences to show up messy. And that's going to be exactly the same for you as you build out your indirect care practice. Think about the first time you ever had to suture somebody together was that perfect? Or did your attendee breathe over your shoulder and watched you like a hawk, make sure that you didn't mess up on their patient because the suture is the first thing they're going to see after they take off the surgical dressings, right. And that feeling I still remember that feeling. It was nerve racking, I was sweating, I was feeling the voices judging me my own voices and the voices that I created around me saying, Oh, it's not even it's not aligned, it's going to create a scar and all of these things, right. And then it turned out just fine. 

Dr. T  12:07  
Once the swelling went away, private practice, same thing, you're gonna go through those feelings of self doubt those voices in your head that really doesn't have to exist, or you can just gently remind them to quiet down and focus on the good that you are doing, you are helping this person, you are in a space that you can fully control your schedule in direct care, you're gonna get paid exactly what you want to get paid and direct care. So all that is to say, when you start your direct care practice, or if you have one, and you're looking to scale it, you're gonna have your ups, you're gonna have your downs, it's never ending. This is like, this is what owning a business is like, because, well, if it was easy, then everybody would be doing it. I wouldn't even be talking about on this podcast, because I know it's not easy. This is supposed to be hard. But with that comes with a greater reward not just financially, but emotionally and spiritually too. 

Dr. T  12:58  
Because when you create something that is your own with your own hand, and with your own brain, there is a deep satisfaction that you're doing something that aligns with your values, it's totally different than showing up as an employee who's working at a job where you're just plugged into the system to build somebody else's dream. But why not build your own doctors have to be near perfect in treating patients, I get that you have to have a regimen and protocol. But it's not the same as when you're developing your business. Being near perfect to start your business means that you're already too late. You should have started long time ago, in order to get the lessons that comes along with your business, the business aspect, the actual living in the business is the practicum that you must experience in order to get out thicker skin to experience what your community wants from you or what you're good at. There should be a match in between in that means that you have to start with what you have, and then do it messy, not sloppy, but the best that you've got right now so that you can get better at it. Nobody starts perfect and it's perfectly okay to start messy. I hope they gave you a little shot of inspiration. Because if you're hesitating if you're procrastinating because you're waiting for that perfect time, well, maybe the perfect time is right now, why not? Right? 

Dr. T  14:15  
If you find that you need a little bit more guidance, I do have my course called Launch in 12 weeks, the link will be down in the show notes. It is an incredible investment. And I will be having a live coaching session in just three days for the people who purchase session is going to be March 31 at 12pm Pacific Standard Time. So take advantage of that by the course go through it come prepared with questions and I look forward to connecting you live on Friday. That's all for now. Take care. 

Dr. T  14:43  
Thank you so much for being here with me. If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, please like, share and subscribe so more people like you can have access to another way of practicing medicine, The Direct Care Way. Let's connect find my info in the show notes and send me your questions. might be the topic for future episodes.

Dr. T  15:02  
And lastly if you remember nothing else remember this be the energy you want to attract See you next time