We were lucky to catch up with Flora Sinha recently and have shared our conversation below.

Flora, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Three years after being diagnosed with secondary infertility, working on the medical front lines during the Covid-19 pandemic, and reaching the point of burnout multiple times, I decided to take a step back from medicine and start my own 1:1 mindset coaching practice. For most people, this does not seem out of the normal. For those in the medicine field, especially physicians, this is a big deal. I had spent my entire 20s and a bit of my 30s devoted towards working towards becoming a doctor. My identity was tied to being the best physician I could be, relating to patients, and bringing a sense of comfort to them. All of my decisions surrounded that identity. After giving birth to my daughter, who came 6 weeks prematurely, I returned to work after a mere 8 weeks… and would have been 6 weeks but my daughter was in the NICU for 2 weeks. After I tried to expand my family and was diagnosed with secondary infertility, I started the grueling process of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), which was the most difficult emotional and physical roller coaster of my life. Going through IVF is like having a second job – weekly lab draws, meticulously timed medication, imaging studies, doctor visits, procedures – all of which could change at any point in time. During this time I was balancing a full time medical practice, a Los Angeles commute, raising a toddler, and a marriage to another busy full time physician. I would work extra hours, double book patients, do whatever I could to make up for “lost patient care time” because I was trying to have another baby. My infertility journey was full of unsuccessful transfers, pregnancy losses, false positives, depression, anxiety. I was lost. I missed core memories with my family because I was so burned out. I didn’t recognize myself. After years of carrying the notion that “patients comes first,” I told myself that was enough. And, I started to put myself first.
Fast forward a few years – I found myself reaching burnout over and over again. I took as aspect of medicine that I loved – helping patients learn tools and techniques to change their outlook on their daily life and their medical diagnoses – and recognized that there were accomplished, driven, amazing people around me who needed help changing their mindset to prevent burnout, build habits, and live with JOY amid life’s ups and downs. It has been a big transition for me balancing my medical practice and building a business. It was a huge risk and being a small business owner comes with hardships but I am truly content.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a mindset coach who helps working women get out of their ruts. When first meeting with me, clients are often feeling overwhelmed, stuck in a rut, imposter syndrome, troubled with setting boundaries, and overall stuck in negative mindset cycle. Clients are taught to build a personalized foundation of tools and techniques to help them overcome daily life obstacles so they feel empowered and in control to reach more content. So when life throws them a curveball (which it will), they feel ready and in control with their set of mindset shifting tools. Changing your mindset won’t change the situation, but it will help HOW you deal with the situation,
My “Mindset is Medicine,” coaching is based on the fact that I am a board-certified physician who not only uses science backed tools and techniques to coach, I have lived it. And, I continue to practice them. I connect with other women through my experiences growing up in a traditional South Asian household, being a woman in medicine and working mother, married to a physician, former sufferer of severe imposter syndrome, and journey through medicine and secondary infertility.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My initial answer about my infertility journey describes this!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Piggybacking on my initial story, I had to unlearn putting others first and finally prioritize my mental and physical health.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://florasinhamd.com
• Instagram: @drflorasinha
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/flora-sinha-9a676a198/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@florasinhamd