Opinion

Narjust Florez: Let me share a few things I learned this year

Photo from Narjust Florez/X

Dec 30, 2023, 17:33

Narjust Florez: Let me share a few things I learned this year

Narjust Florez shared on X:

“Let me share a few things I learned this year:

#1 NOTHING lasts forever, even when dark and long, it will end AND YOU are going to be OK.

#2 Nobody is responsible for your mental health but YOU AND mental health =
-Boundaries
-Detailed, guilt free away messages
-Rest
-Saying No
-Those walks you love.

#3 It can wait and if doesn’t wait, it didn’t matter as long as dad is OK. On day #1 on my vacation in Bali, I got a WhatsApp message with a pathology report, dad was diagnosed w/cancer. I will never be the same doctor and daughter again.

#4 my most productive time is between 6 am and 10 am AND I now protect that time from meetings and email. When is your most productive time? And are you protecting it?

#5 My happiness, My duty: I have learned to understand vs. react and value time off. Still much to learn but I am not living with the goal of an inbox at zero any more.

#6 I stopped waiting for ‘the when or after …’.
e.g. ‘When I get this grant… I’ll’. ‘After I publish … I will’. AND started taking action. Delayed gratification for what?

-Bali
-Moved by waves.
-Went home x3.
-Bought my dream cookware.
-Etc.

#7 Black and white perceptions keep you away from life’s reality. Doing a bit of work in the weekend is not that bad, some weekends you are off and others you are not. It’s more about life-work integration than balance. With balance we state good vs. bad.“

Source: Narjust Florez/X

Narjust Florez is the Associate Director of the Cancer Care Equity Program and a thoracic medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center. She is the principal investigator of the Sexual Health Assessment in Women with Lung Cancer (SHAWL) Study, the largest study to date evaluating sexual dysfunction in women with lung cancer.

She received the 2020 Rising Star award by the LEAD National Conference for women in hematology and oncology. In addition, Dr. Florez founded the Florez Lab in 2019. The laboratory focuses on lung cancer, social justice issues in medicine, and medical education.