Life Beyond Clinical Practice | Career Clarity, Non-Clinical Careers for Health Professionals, Leaving Clinical Practice, Career Pivot, Purpose after Burnout, Career Reinvention for Clinicians

In this episode of Life Beyond Clinical Practice, Dr. Diane Van Staden explores the theme of wanting more in life and career after experiencing grief. She emphasizes that desiring more is not a flaw but a natural response to acknowledging what no longer serves us. The conversation encourages listeners to reframe their understanding of desire, allowing for imagination and exploration of what truly energizes them, while also recognizing the importance of gratitude in the process of wanting more.

 

Takeaways

- Wanting more is not a character flaw.
- Desire is simply information about your inner world.
- Gratitude doesn't require you to stay small.
- You can appreciate your past while seeking change.
- Imagination is a rehearsal for alignment.
- Allow yourself to desire without guilt.
- Career grief opens space for new possibilities.
- Longing for more is rooted in maturity.
- Desire can lead to more truth and alignment.
- Reflect on what energizes you in your work.

 

Join the Pivot Crash Course and start building your career with clarity and confidence 👉 https://lifebeyondclinicalpractice.com/main-order-page 

 

MORE WAYS TO CONNECT:

Follow our LinkedIn page:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/life-beyond-clinical-practice/    

Book a Clarity Call with Dr Diane https://calendly.com/lbcp/strategy-call    

Join the Movement on Instagram: @lifebeyondclinicalpractice 

Rate and Review the show on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-beyond-clinical-practice-healthcare-careers-professional/id1713086617

In this episode of Life Beyond Clinical Practice, Dr. Diane Van Staden explores the theme of career grief, particularly focusing on the emotional turmoil that arises when one's professional life no longer aligns with personal identity and fulfillment. She emphasizes the importance of acknowledging this grief, understanding its implications, and allowing oneself to reflect on the changes in one's career path. The episode encourages listeners to embrace their feelings and recognize that caring about their future is a vital part of the awakening process.

Takeaways

This episode is part of a sequential series intended for deep reflection.
Career grief is a quiet loss that many health professionals experience.
Grieving a career while still in it is a real and valid experience.
Grief is about identity and belonging, not just the work itself.
Ignoring grief can lead to fatigue and disengagement.
Acknowledging grief can lead to clarity and self-respect.
You can hold both gratitude for the past and grief for the present.
Grief does not require immediate decisions, just acknowledgment.
Reflection on what you are grieving can lead to personal insights.
Caring about your future is essential for personal awakening.

 

TAKE ACTION:

Download the Awakening Series Reflection worksheet https://docs.google.com/document/d/10RQ3mwub3WhH1Qy34unIWxLaMCazLjwoPCQNJHIfxMg/edit?usp=sharing

Sign up for the Pivot Crash Course 👉 https://lifebeyondclinicalpractice.com/main-order-page

What if the greatest cost in your career isn’t leaving… but staying?

We talk often about the risks of walking away — from income, identity, and security.
But far less about the quieter, cumulative cost of remaining in work you’ve already outgrown.

In this episode of the Awakening Series, Dr Diane explores the rarely named truth behind professional comfort: why stability is often mistaken for wisdom, how the paycheck becomes the final justification, and what slowly erodes when misalignment is tolerated for too long.

This is not an episode about impulsive change or dramatic exits.
It’s an invitation to honesty - before numbness becomes normal.

🖋 Reflection Prompt
If you continue exactly as you are for the next five years…
what is the quiet cost?

Not financially.
Internally.

What might you be trading for comfort? 

🌿 Gentle Invitation
If this episode is stirring questions about what you’re really staying for, a quiet reflection companion has been created to help you explore this — without rushing into answers.

You’ll find it linked below.

Download the Reflection Worksheet here https://docs.google.com/document/d/10RQ3mwub3WhH1Qy34unIWxLaMCazLjwoPCQNJHIfxMg/edit?usp=sharing 

 

Join the Pivot Crash Course in 2026 and start building your career with clarity and confidence 👉 https://lifebeyondclinicalpractice.com/main-order-page 

 

Join Dr. Diane van Staden as she guides you through the reinvention journey - one honest conversation at a time.

In this third episode of The Awakening Series, Dr. Diane van Staden invites clinicians and high-achieving professionals to question the standards by which they define success.

This episode explores a quiet but powerful realization many experience mid-career: the metrics that once motivated and validated you may no longer reflect who you’ve become.

If you’ve followed the rules, achieved the titles, and built a stable career-yet feel a growing sense of misalignment - this conversation offers clarity, permission, and a new lens for evaluating success as you prepare to reinvent your career in 2026.

Join the Pivot Crash Course in 2026 and start building your career with clarity and confidence 👉 https://lifebeyondclinicalpractice.com/main-order-page 

Key Themes & Takeaways

Why traditional success metrics (titles, credentials, income, stability) eventually lose their meaning

The difference between progress and expansion

How external validation can mask internal dissatisfaction

The shift from achievement-driven motivation to meaning-driven fulfillment

Why feeling misaligned is not ingratitude—but maturation

How outdated scoreboards can keep you stuck in an earlier version of yourself

Reflective Questions from the Episode

How do you know you’re doing well—beyond external measures?

Does your current work reflect your values and strengths?

Do your days energize you or diminish you?

If no one else was watching, how would you define success now?

What This Episode Is Really About
This episode is an invitation to pause—not to judge your current path, but to notice whether the metrics you’re using still belong to you. True awakening isn’t about abandoning success; it’s about redefining it in a way that feels congruent, alive, and meaningful.

What’s Coming Next
In the next episode, Dr. van Staden explores “The Hidden Cost of Staying Comfortable.” You’ll unpack how comfort can quietly drain vitality, why staying can be just as costly as leaving, and how honesty becomes the first act of courage in reinvention.

This episode builds on Episodes 1 and 2 of The Awakening Series and is a pivotal step toward understanding what it truly means to reinvent your career beyond clinical practice.

Join Dr. Diane van Staden as she guides you through the reinvention journey—one honest conversation at a time.

In Episode 2 of this Awakening series, we touch on a powerful reframe:

“What If You’re Not Broken - You’re Just Out of Alignment?”

In this episode, Dr. Diane Van Staden explores the concept of Quiet Burnout and the feelings of misalignment that many clinicians experience.

She emphasizes that exhaustion may not indicate a personal flaw but rather a signal that one's work no longer aligns with their evolving values and identity.

The episode encourages self-reflection and compassion as a means to navigate these feelings and find clarity in one's professional journey.

Many clinicians mistake exhaustion for personal failure, when it’s actually a call for change.

Join the Pivot Crash Course in 2026 and start building your career with clarity and confidence 👉 https://lifebeyondclinicalpractice.com/main-order-page 

 

Don't miss the next episode which offers compassion, clarity, and relief - especially if you’ve been trying to fix yourself instead of questioning the environment you’re in.

 

MORE WAYS TO CONNECT:

Follow our LinkedIn page:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/life-beyond-clinical-practice/   

Book a Clarity Call with Dr Diane https://calendly.com/lbcp/strategy-call   

Join the Movement on Instagram: @lifebeyondclinicalpractice 

Rate and Review the show on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-beyond-clinical-practice-healthcare-careers-professional/id1713086617 

 

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