Life As Usual - Managing Illness And Grief While Running Your Startup

The thing about illness is, it just hits you.

It’s unpredictable, it follows no rules (not always anyway, despite our best work as clinicians and scientists, biology is unique and will play its own role in each of us), and it hits you when you least expect it.

It’s damn frustrating, because our daily lives are built around routine, around schedules for work and appointments and goals and personal life. But illness doesn’t follow a schedule. The world doesn’t sit still while you suffer.

So what can you do?

You try to pace yourself, and take time off.

You limit your commitments; you rest; you take a break.

Then, when you feel better, you return to work, to your startups, to your passions - to your life as usual - and BAM! It hits you again. Or some other calamity related to the illness.

Whether it’s an illness hitting you, or your loved one; your life is disrupted again.

And think about the emotional trauma of impending bereavement; grief; or other foreshadowing..

Imagine this happening again, and again, and again, and again…..

This is reality for millions of people around the world.

And if it’s not cancer, child-related, or pregnancy-related, often the people affected are suffering in SILENCE- the kind where no one understands what’s going on with you.

How on earth can you live #lifeasusual while fighting something that’s bigger than you, that has no rule book, that pays no heed to your wishes, that doesn’t reward you for good rest and nutrition and self care?

You can recognise the things you can control.

All you can control is right in this moment.

The present.

Being mindful of your surroundings; of your circumstances; of the thoughts, fears and hopes in your head.

You can control your breathing; whether you take a step forward or back (literally); whether you choose to sit in stillness, or with a book and pen, or with headphones on the train, or holding your loved one’s hand.

You can accept that things aren’t right for now, and possibly won’t be ever again, instead of trying to hide those feelings; and that makes it easier to take your next step.

It’s tough while running the startups in your life, tough trying to keep all the wheels in motion while trying to be there for yourself and others who are most important to you.

Allow yourself to not listen to those who don’t understand- because there are many, unfortunately, who will choose not to.

Remember, you’re doing your best.

You deserve to be kind to yourself.

To be continued…

Fear is the Enemy of Creation

Something I’ve been thinking of recently.

Is Fear synonymous with Perfectionism?

Fear of screwing it up?

Fear of not getting it right the first time?

Fear of looking like a fool (a usually unjustified concern)?

Fear you’ll launch and sell not one item?

Fear you’ll screw up your job interview and miss out on your dream job?

Are you fearing what others might say and think about your choices?

Does it really matter?

As long as you’re choosing something you’re passionate about, and believe in, by action you can convince yourself.

It’s all about learning along the way.

And acknowledging your fear.

Seth Godin says here to “acknowledge” the fear and shame. Don’t fight it. “I listen to it and do it anyway. And that is where we’re going to make the impact.”

It’s being mindful of it.

And recognising your power to conquer your fears.

What are you scared of most?

Is it really that bad?

Write down three actions you can take to challenge it.

Empowerment through eLearning in Medicine

You may have noticed on Instagram- I’ve been working on developing online courses.

The courses will have a difference to what’s existing already. There are literally thousands of fantastic courses online that will help you learn to code, sew, speak Spanish, and more.

But nothing out there exists specifically for medical workers and the entrepreneurially-minded out there, from a medical perspective, from real experiences.

How does startup thinking apply to you as a doctor, nurse, physio, engineer and so forth?

Where do you start when a great idea comes to mind?

What’s the truth about how clinicians really feel at times- burnt out, exhausted, demotivated, self-loathing even? How is this similar to how entrepreneurs in other industries feel? And how can all of you learn from these experiences and overcome them, or at least start to tackle them when you’re on the go, on rotation in the middle of nowhere, a busy parent on night shift, or taking a gap year overseas?

I realised that, by exploring all these topics the last three years, even when it wasn’t clear to me at first (this whole blog started by accident, after all!), the whole journey has helped me in my own personal and professional life.

I went through all of this myself, was burnt many times, and know what lies are out there, what superficial constructs have been built supporting the “Silicon Valley mindset”, how toxic this can be to you as a compassionate person who works in healthcare or wants to start in healthcare, and how the medical world is similar to this.

And also, what’s changing about these worlds, to accept more human elements, more authenticity, more vulnerability, and more real sharing of experiences and ideas.

Thinking of your path as your own Startup is one way to start healing yourself, to build resilience, and to encourage yourself when you’re alone, when you feel misunderstood, and things seem tough. Even if you never start your own tech company, it doesn’t matter. We can all learn from startup thinking, even if your pursuit is actually in art or music or sport.

And that’s the thing. From Day 1, I was keen to feature people who are like me- creative as well as in STEM- to help transform the dialogue in medicine, that we are just what our job roles say- RMO, RN1, Dietitian, and nothing else beyond that. What happened to the extracurricular activities we loved in school, and how they were promoted as part of our curriculums there?

I felt ridiculed and even stupid for having a strong creative passion from childhood, and trying to marry this with medicine, which I also enjoy. Really, we all use creativity to some extent in our daily lives. From showcasing interviews with photographers, magicians and jewellery designers, to gaining confidence for my own journey in the creative industries, and to being approached to help start other ventures, this journey has been incredible and taught me a lot that I can share with you, too.

I’ll keep you posted- best is to sign up to the Mailing List at the bottom of this page, and/or follow on social media; if any questions about what particularly you’d like to learn or are struggling with, please send me an email at info (at) themedicalstartup.com.

Thank you for being part of our journey throughout, can’t wait to share more!

Cheers,

Louise

Don't Be Afraid

Don’t be afraid to say no to a deal that isn’t fair.

Don’t be afraid to walk away from teammates who don’t support you, despite false words and appearances.

Don’t be afraid to walk away from those who discredit you and your hard work.

Don’t be afraid to call out what’s wrong.

Don’t be afraid to believe in you.

Don’t be afraid to persist.

Don’t be afraid to wait to figure out your next move.

Don’t be afraid to walk away from that which doesn’t nourish you.

Don’t be afraid of time.

Don’t be afraid of change.

Don’t be afraid of success.

Don’t be afraid of happiness.

Don’t be afraid of your dreams.

Don’t be afraid to put your health first.

Don’t be afraid to put your loved ones first.

Don’t be afraid to say what’s tough.

Don’t be afraid to have values.

Don’t be afraid to care.

I hope this helps you.