Negotiation #3: Negotiate Your Health

Your Health Is Non-Negotiable

You are the most valuable investment you will ever make. Everything in your career and personal life flows from you. That’s why negotiating your health is not optional—it’s essential.

Stephen Covey, in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, describes the principle of “sharpening the saw.” If you want to cut down a tree, you don’t just start swinging a dull axe. You sharpen it first, and only then do you cut. The sharper the saw, the easier the work.

Your health is that saw. If you neglect it, everything else becomes harder. But if you care for it, you amplify your capacity to succeed.

Five Areas to Negotiate in Your Health

1. Physical Wellness

As academic physicians, it’s easy to say: I’m too busy for exercise, nutrition, or sleep. But your body is the vehicle that carries you through every responsibility. Just as you wouldn’t neglect a car you depend on, you cannot afford to neglect your physical wellness. Investing in exercise, rest, and nutrition pays dividends in productivity and longevity.

2. Emotional and Spiritual Nourishment

The journey of an academic physician is full of rejection and challenge—grants denied, manuscripts rejected, difficult patient outcomes, and tough feedback from mentors. It’s important to acknowledge your emotions rather than suppress them. Grieving disappointments or crying over setbacks isn’t weakness—it’s human.

Spiritual nourishment is equally critical. It’s about connecting to a deeper sense of purpose, reminding yourself that your work isn’t just about checking boxes or impressing others. When your work aligns with your purpose, you feel energized. When it doesn’t, you feel drained.

3. Intellectual Development

Medical training may be rigorous, but your intellectual growth shouldn’t stop once you’re board-certified. Keep stretching yourself. Read broadly, explore new ideas, and engage with perspectives outside of medicine. Intellectual development keeps you curious, creative, and relevant—not just in your field, but as a whole person.

4. Financial Health

Many physicians finish training burdened by debt and financially “behind.” Negotiating your health also means negotiating your financial stability. Financial freedom gives you options, reduces stress, and allows you to focus on your work and family with greater clarity. Your financial health is inseparable from your overall well-being.

5. Social Capital

Training often pulls you away from friends and community. But along the way, you’ve also built valuable professional and personal connections. Social capital—your relationships and networks—is a form of wealth. Nurture it. Expand beyond your institution and beyond medicine. Build friendships and connections that sustain you emotionally, socially, and professionally.

Health as the Foundation of Success

Your health—physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, financial, and social—is the foundation for everything else you negotiate. When you invest in these areas, you’re not only extending your capacity to work—you’re enriching your ability to live fully.

What’s Next: Negotiating Your Energy

Health fuels your work. But energy determines how you show up each day. In the next post, we’ll explore the fourth negotiation: your energy—how to protect, renew, and allocate it wisely.

Reflection Questions

• Which area of health—physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, financial, or social—needs the most attention in your life right now?

• How do you usually respond to setbacks: with compassion and acknowledgment, or by pushing past them without pause?

• What small step could you take this week to sharpen your saw?

• Who in your life could help support your health—personally or professionally?