Dr. Darria Long: Wait, Why NOT Me?
Dr. Darria Long was in the middle of her residency when the swine flu epidemic completely upended her career. She had just gotten her MBA with plans to work in healthcare finance or digital services.
Every day she was comforting and reassuring her patients, who were scared from the stories they were hearing on TV.
And that’s when the thought hit her: these patients needed a new message. The world needed a new message. What if she could educate and comfort the world with science and empathy?
She thought of all the reasons why she couldn’t do it and told herself she wasn’t the person to do it. But then her mentor said three words that changed everything: why NOT you?
Today, in addition to being an ER doctor, Dr. Darria is the author of the bestselling book Mom Hacks and a regular media personality.
In this episode, Dr. Darria Long and I chat about:
- Why Darria has always run toward the emergency
- How narrowing your focus can be both a good thing and a bad thing
- The ways in which having her first child made her think about applying her ER skills to everyday life
- The beauty of James Corden’s Crosswalk Musicals
- How keeping a gratitude journal helps Dr. Darria find the positive
- The science behind how gratitude makes us feel
- Why it’s ok for your mentors to change throughout the course of your life
