Award-winning heart surgeon in SoCal blows up the work-life balance myth

Work-life balance and demanding high-stakes jobs rarely coexist and the majority of the workforce across the globe is striving for both at the moment.A California-based cardiothoracic surgeon‘s new perspective suggests that we may be looking at the entire situation through distorted glasses.San Diego’s award-winning, board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon Dr.Alexandra Kharazi says the entire idea rests on a culture that tries to help individuals “balance” the lives they fundamentally dislike.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story “Much of the advice around work-life balance operates on the assumption that everyone works a predictable desk job, where boundaries are clean and laptops can simply be shut at 5:00 p.m.,” Kharazi wrote in a Forbes article, busting all the myths about modern-day work.“I have missed dinners, holidays and sleep.

I have walked into hospitals at 3 a.m.while most of my city was safely unconscious.“I have spent hours trying to save people who statistically should not have survived… And despite all of it, I still love what I do,” the author of “The Heart of Fear” added.She argues that fulfillment doesn’t come when one achieves a perfect balance between work and personal life but rather from aligning your career with a purpose you’re passionate about: “You cannot meditate or vacation your way out of a career that isn’t meant for you.”She further states that most people think it’s healthy to spend all Sunday golfing or watching sports, but if a doctor spends that same time working on their passion, people call them “absent.”We, as a society, don’t judge people for spending long hours on hobbies, but we often criticize them for spending that same time on their work.Kharazi says that the proble...