“At some point, you have to make a decision. Boundaries don’t keep other people out, they fence you in. Life is messy. That’s how we’re made. So you can waste your life drawing lines…or you can live your life crossing them. But there are some lines…that are way too dangerous to cross. Here’s what I…”Tagged: Decisions, boundaries, Drawing Lines
“It's all about lines. The finish line at the end of residency, waiting in line for a chance at the operating table, and then there's the most important line, the line separating you from the people you work with. It doesn't help to get too familiar, to make friends. You need boundaries, between you…”Tagged: Lines, Drawing Lines, Line in the Sand, boundaries
“At some point you have to make a decision. Boundaries don't keep other people out; they fence you in. Life is messy, that's how we're made.”Tagged: boundaries, Fences, Decisions
“At some point, you have to make a decision. Boundaries don't keep other people out. They fence you in. Life is messy. That's how we're made. So, you can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them. But there are some lines... that are way too dangerous to cross.”Tagged: Decisions, boundaries, danger, Crossing Lines
“Intimacy is a four-syllable word for ‘Here are my heart and soul, please grind them into hamburger, and enjoy.'”Tagged: Intimacy, vulnerability, Hamburger
“I wish there were a rulebook for intimacy. Some kind of a guide that can tell you when you've crossed the line.”Tagged: Intimacy, Rulebooks
“Responsibility. It really does suck....Unfortunately, once you get past the age of braces and training bras, responsibility doesn't go away.”Tagged: Responsibility, Braces, Training Bras
“The early bird catches the worm; a stitch in time saves nine....He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we haven't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to 'seize the day'. Still…”Tagged: Benjamin Franklin, early bird, Seize The Day
“The thing people forget is how good it can feel when you finally set secrets free. Whether good or bad, at least they're out in the open, like it or not....And once your secrets are out in the open, you don't have to hide behind them anymore....The problem with secrets is even when you think you're…”Tagged: Secrets, Truth, Control
“You know how when you were a little kid and you believed in fairy tales? That fantasy of what your life would be—white dress, Prince Charming who'd carry you away to a castle on a hill. You'd lie in bed at night and close your eyes and you had complete and utter faith....Santa Claus, the Tooth…”Tagged: Prince Charming, fairy tales, Fantasies, Hope, Faith
“What's up with the need to hit the self-destruct button? Maybe we like the pain. Maybe we're wired that way because without it….I don't know. Maybe we just wouldn't feel real. What's that saying….Why do I keep hitting myself with a hammer? Because it feels so good when I stop.”Tagged: Pain, Wiring
“At the end of the day, faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don’t really expect it. It’s like one day you realize the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed of. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And it’s not so important that it’s happy ever after just that it’s happy…”Tagged: Faith, fairy tales, Surprises, Dreams, Happiness
“You're letting her think you're emotionally available. You're letting her think she has a chance. And there is nothing worse in the world than thinking you have a chance when you really don't.”Tagged: False Hope, Chance, Leading On, emotionally available
“No one likes to lose control, but as a surgeon there's nothing worse. It's a sign of weakness. Of not being up to the task. And still, there are times when it just gets away from you. When the world stops spinning and you realize that your shiny little scalpel isn't going to save you. No matter how…”Tagged: Surgeons, scalpel
“The key to surviving a surgical internship is denial. We deny that we're tired, we deny that we're scared, we deny how badly we want to succeed. And most importantly, we deny that we're in denial.”Tagged: Internship, Survival, Denial, Tired, Scared
“At the end of the day, there are some things you just can't help but talk about....Some things we just don't want to hear, and some things we say because we can't be silent any longer.....Some things are more than what you say, they're what you do.....Some things you say because there's no other…”Tagged: Speaking, Listening