Hello Reader,
What Would You Do If Anything Was Possible?
Not someday. Not after you fix everything else. Right now.
That question broke something open for one of Vicki’s clients this year. She’d been stuck for months—aware something wasn’t working, unable to name what came next. One question loosened the grip enough for her to finally see what she’d been avoiding.
It’s not magical thinking. It’s permission to imagine before you plan.
When our team sat down to reflect on 2025, that theme kept surfacing: the beliefs that keep us stuck are often the ones we’ve stopped questioning.
I know reflection isn’t something most of us prioritize. When you’re running between patients, managing a team, or juggling clinical demands with everything else life throws at you, looking back can feel like a luxury. But what struck me in our conversation was how much clarity comes from pausing—even briefly—to notice what’s changed.
So here’s what we learned this year: In case any of it lands for wherever you are right now.
1. Showing Up Is the Work
Vicki has iterated on her keynote all year. Refining, delivering, refining again. She said something that rewired how I think about “ready”:
“It’s never going to be perfect. Perfect is being unto itself. Every time I give it, it is perfection.”
I’ve watched so many healthcare leaders hold back—the email they don’t send, the conversation they keep rehearsing, the idea they sit on because the timing isn’t right. But the talk you give, the email you send, the hard conversation you finally have—that’s not preparation for the real thing. It is the real thing.
Waiting for readiness keeps you waiting. And the version of you on the other side of action? That’s who you become by doing it imperfectly, not by planning it perfectly.
2. You’re More Than Your Title
Michelle named something many of us feel but rarely say aloud: in healthcare, we cling to professional identities.
“I’m a nurse.” “I’m a physician.” “I’m in administration.”
Those labels anchor us. They give us credibility, community, a sense of purpose. But they also cage us. They become the only lens through which we see ourselves—and the only future we can imagine.
What happens when you open that box? When you ask what else might be possible—not instead of your role, but alongside it? You’re not your title. You never were. And allowing yourself to evolve as a person, not just a professional, might be the most important leadership work you do.
3. Your Body Knows Before You Do
A physical therapist came to Vicki exhausted. Same system for years. Management changes, shifting regulations, a growing gap between what she valued and what the job demanded.
She wasn’t tired from the sessions. She was depleted from the mental gymnastics of making it okay to stay.
Sound familiar? That constant internal negotiation: Maybe it’ll get better. Maybe I’m being too sensitive. Maybe I just need to adjust my expectations. That’s not resilience. That’s exhaustion dressed up as coping.
Through coaching, she got clear on what mattered. Found a role aligned with those values. Her mood, affect, and confidence shifted completely.
The job didn’t change her. The right environment let her be herself again.
If you’re running that exhausting calculation—Can I make this okay?—the answer starts with clarity about what you actually value. Sometimes the shift is internal. Sometimes it’s external. But it always begins with honesty about where you are.
4. The Small Steps Are the Transformation
Klaus reminded us that big change is hard to sell. Not because people don’t want it—because the vision feels overwhelming. We want the result and forget the slow, uncomfortable process of getting there.
His most practical insight: break overwhelming goals into small, achievable steps. Then celebrate them. Not as milestones on the way to something bigger—as evidence that transformation is already happening.
Those steps aren’t leading to transformation. They are the transformation.
The leader who starts blocking 15 minutes for herself each morning. The physician who finally delegates one task. The manager who says no to a meeting that drains her. Those aren’t small things. They’re the new pattern taking shape.
5. You Are Not Stuck
Klaus put it plainly: “You are not stuck. You are able to change and transform into something else if that’s what you want.”
That’s not a platitude. It’s an invitation.
Sometimes you can’t see the path because you’ve been staring at the wall so long you forgot there’s a door. Sometimes you need a coach, a community, or a friend who sees what’s possible when you can’t. But the capacity for change? That’s already yours. It doesn’t need to be earned. It just needs to be accessed.
What’s Next for You?
If any of this landed, here are a few ways to keep the conversation going:
Share this with a colleague. Compare what resonated.
Book a 20-minute strategy call. Bring a sticky issue—we’ll map a first move together.
Join the waitlist for the MedTHRIVE® Intensive.
90 days for healthcare leaders ready to invest in personal leadership and wellbeing. Because taking care of yourself isn’t separate from the work—it’s the foundation. Coming to you Fall 2026: Get on the wait list now by replying to this email and let's find out if it's the right fit for you.
Here’s to progress, possibility, and fewer mental gymnastics in the new year.
🎧 Listen to the podcast sneak peek episode below and listen to the full episode on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Podbean, or Amazon Music.
What's inspiring us this week:
Noticing matters. Helping matters. https://www.today.com/food/people/chef-saves-customers-life-shrimp-basket-pensacola-florida-rcna250104
The Practice: Celebrating Wins
We get more of what we focus on. The practice of gratitude and celebrating the goodness of life is the first step in changing our brains, mindsets, and circumstances for the better.
Coming to you from Orlando Walt Disney World where I am spending time with my sisters and daughter. Celebrating time with family, here's to pixie dust to ring in the new year!
Stay mindful and keep leading,
Lillian
Founder & CEO
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