The Wandering Koi

For many professionals, work becomes inseparable from identity.

Medicine in particular has a way of shaping not only what you do, but who you believe yourself to be.

The Weight of a Title

Becoming a surgeon requires years of training and sacrifice.

The title carries responsibility, pride, and purpose.

Over time it also becomes shorthand for identity.

Stepping Away

Choosing to step away, even temporarily, raises an unexpected question:

If the title pauses, who remains?

This isn’t a crisis of identity.

It’s an opportunity to examine it more closely.

Titles vs Values

Titles describe roles.

Values describe character.

While my role as a surgeon may pause for a year, the deeper values that led me to medicine remain:

curiosity service responsibility connection

Those qualities simply show up in different ways during this journey.

Lessons That Travel

Medicine teaches skills that extend well beyond hospitals:

– staying calm in uncertainty

– careful preparation

– attention to detail

– listening to people closely

These habits will likely serve us just as well navigating unfamiliar places.

Letting Identity Expand

Stepping away from a title doesn’t mean abandoning it.

It simply allows space for identity to grow in additional directions.

And growth is, ultimately, the purpose of this sabbatical.