I almost missed it.
On a walk through the yard, I noticed several deep red blooms on our climbing rose alongside a few new buds. It’s a robust grower, reliable all summer. I celebrate the first bloom of spring, but as the months roll on, I stop noticing them as much. That deep red bloom in mid-October, set against the turning leaves, made me stop.
Even in the gradual slowdown of fall, there is new growth. We’re wired to celebrate big milestones -graduations, births, marriages, promotions—but we miss the small things, like the last rose of fall, that quietly signal a season of rest and reset.
Medicine tends to demand perpetual summer. Production, pursuit, performance. But the body, mind, and spirit are seasonal. When we honor fall, when we normalize slowing down, pruning commitments, and letting certain expectations drop, we create space for the kind of growth that doesn’t shout.
It’s the growth of roots, perspective, and alignment.
Here's what I've learned, both in my own career and in working with hundreds of physicians: the seasons of slowdown are not failures of productivity—they're invitations to transformation.
If you're in a season right now that feels less vibrant than the ones before it, I want you to consider that you're not falling behind. You might be exactly where you need to be. Because sometimes the most important work we do happens not in the sprint of summer, but in the quiet recalibration of fall.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
— Lao Tzu
Coach's Corner
This week, spend 5–10 minutes reflecting on the season you're in right now. Grab a journal, a notes app, or simply thinkg about these questions:
- What season does my career feel like right now? Am I in a spring of new beginnings? A summer of productivity and growth? A fall of transition and slowing down? Or a winter of rest and uncertainty?
2. What "late blooms" am I overlooking? What small moments of growth, connection, or clarity have I dismissed because they don't look like the big milestones I'm used to celebrating?
3. What might this season be preparing me for? If I trusted that this quieter time has purpose, what might it be teaching me or making space for?
4. What would it look like to honor this season instead of resisting it? How might I give myself permission to rest, reflect, or recalibrate without guilt?
Don't rush this. Let yourself sit with whatever comes up. Sometimes the most profound insights arrive not in the doing, but in the pausing.
If you're in a season of transition—whether that's questioning your specialty, considering a nonclinical path, or simply trying to rediscover what fulfillment looks like in medicine—I want you to know that **you don't have to navigate it alone.**
I created The Developing Doctor for physicians who are ready to stop white-knuckling their way through each day and start building careers that align with who they are and what they value. Whether you're looking for clarity, confidence, or a roadmap for what's next, I'm here to help.
Ready to dive deeper?
My self-paced online course gives you the tools, frameworks, and reflective exercises to gain clarity on your next chapter—at your own pace, in your own season.
Want to talk it through?
Let's have a conversation. I offer free coaching sessions where we'll explore where you are, where you want to be, and what small steps you can take to get there. No pressure. No judgment. Just two physicians talking honestly about what it takes to build a life you love.
And if all you need is space for quiet reflection, take a walk outside and explore the season.
Ben
Founder, The Developing Doctor
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