February Newsletter—What's your focus?

Perspective is everything in life, and when this gets blurred, people are robbed of their destinies. I speak to people as part of my career; it is the bedrock of my medical practice—you learn a lot about different attitudes. If you don't love interactions and you are in medicine, you are in the wrong career. Some of these interactions can be truly uplifting, while others may suck the joy out of your day. We as physicians focus on looking at our patients as human beings, fellow citizens in this big world of ours. I have come to understand that this will change the way you treat and work with the people you interact with. It's not always about business; it's about one human to another. Our focus should be to do some good every day—this is what brings joy in my career. 

I feel this simple principle can be applied in different scenarios and have the same rewarding outcomes; it's all up to us to make that choice. It's only when people look at other people as business transactions, objects that must meet a need—whatever that may be, without viewing that person as another human being with feelings just like themselves—that things become hairy.

This is the sad story in workplaces, educational institutions, businesses, etc. A smart businessperson knows that love and compassion never fail to retain their clients. People don't seem to remember too much of the material benefits they received; they remember your compassion and will miss it if you are away somewhere. So ask yourself the question: will you be missed by staff, your spouse, your students, your employees, or your children? If you don't think so, it's time to make the change and make your life count.

This month in the Kitchen, we will make roasted eggplant and zucchini salad with feta and roasted nuts as part of our low-carb diet focus. In our Monthly why, we will focus on why a low-carb diet can be good for you. In our Ingredient spotlight, we will focus on blackberries. As always, I wish that you keep your health and nutrition in center focus and live long and strong!