We invest in the people and animals we love. Our children’s activities. Our patients. Our practices. Our homes. We make room for the tutor, the travel team, the new roof, the vet bill.
Then it comes time to invest in our own growth, support, joy, or dream—and suddenly we hesitate.
In this episode, Drs. Jessie Mahoney and Ni-Cheng Liang discuss the specific ways physicians and women in medicine learn to wait for permission.
We may believe in investing in ourselves when it leads to a degree, a certification, or something we can put on a CV. But what about the dream that does not come with a stamp of approval?
Ni-Cheng shares how hard it was to say yes to a paddle coach while training toward a Team USA dragon boat goal—and what changed once she had support, structure, feedback, community, and someone who believed she could do hard things. Jessie reflects on athletic training, public-speaking feedback, writing a book, and the freedom of receiving support rather than trying to figure out everything alone.
This episode is an invitation to notice what becomes possible when we stop treating support as a crutch and start receiving it as a gift.
Your dream may need time, attention, resources, learning, rest, courage, or one small action. It may need a coach, a class, a conversation, a restorative yoga practice, or a pause long enough to recharge your battery.
Who better to invest in than you?
Join Drs. Ni-Cheng Liang and Jessie Mahoney at the next Connect in Nature Retreat December 2-4, 2026. More information here.
Learn more about 1:1, small-group coaching and retreats
Join Jessie Mahoney’s Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga
*Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.