My Medical and Personal Goals

My medical goals were:

◼️Choose Private or Public

I decided to do private only as this gave me more freedom and happiness. I loved working with people in a public hospital who do a fantastic job for their patients. However, I didn’t enjoy the politics, red tape and unwillingness to change and improve for patients’ safety. It made me feel miserable and unhappy.

◼️Set Up Business Helping NZ Medical Community

I wanted to develop a business that would help surgical, medical and GP specialists to connect through education and networking and get to know one another.

◼️Create An Online Source for Preventing Burnout in Doctors

Help doctors achieve the life that they want with the help of my blog and podcasts. Share tips and knowledge to help them prevent burnout and lead happier lives. Happy doctors means satisfied patients.

Personal Goals:

Apart from my medical goals, I wished to achieve the following things in my personal life.

◼️Friends and Family

Family and Friends are vital to me. They ground me and increase my happiness and mojo. I have also realised that acknowledging my Croatian/Yugoslav roots and the time I lived in Bosnia and Croatia is important. As much as I didn’t want to think about the time I spent living there, I understood that it shaped me into the person I am today. Having people (like partners, friends or family) around who can help and support you anytime makes life more comfortable and enjoyable. Studies have found that eating meals alone increases the risk of mental disorders and having a social network is associated with a longer and better quality of life.

My goals in this area are:

Short-Term Goals

• Spend quality time with my partner, rather than sit in front of the TV (walks together, regular holidays, date nights, regularly discuss our plans etc.)

• Talk to my family in Auckland at least once per week

• Visit my Auckland family once every 4-8 weeks o Catch up with my best friend once or twice per year, talk regularly over the phone

Medium-Term Goals

• Visit family in Croatia and Bosnia every three years

◼️ Exercise, Nutrition and Rest

Regular exercise and taking care of the body is essential so we can continue to be able to do things that we want without injuries or chronic ailments (I will talk more about this in another blog).

My goals in this area are:

Short-Term:

• Increase vegetable intake in my diet and have at least two days a week where I have vegetarian meals only.

• Increase fermented food in my diet.

• Do at least 30 min of exercise every day: running/tennis/yoga

• Have at least 7 hrs of sleep, if not catch-up on weekends or other days

• Enjoy regular holidays