The rise of the Happy Doctor …:)

Probably I should start by making it clear: I am not literary a doctor! I have some more years of studies, efforts, individual study, exams, knowledge and hard work to reach that level and take the degree. But, Happy Doctor is not just a title. For me Happy doctor is an idea…a well defined concept, a vision that I’ve been having for years and that start shaping a few years back. 🙂

But I do call myself the Happy Doctor and I am about to tell you how it all started!

The thing is I have this artistic personality (“suflet de vioară” as my peers would say). I am super empathic, I write a lot, I think a lot (this has a neurological cause as I was born premature at 7 months…interesting story of how my neurons work…I should probably tell you all about it in another post).And I talk… OMG….I talk a lot. 🙂 For me a fulfilling and meaningful life translates into being able to to help others, my family, my friends, the people I love and care about, the ones I work with and the ones I meet in my every day life. During the past years I realized that my desire to help others is not enough to make a significant difference in someone’s life. To be able to help many people you need power (as influence) and knowledge. My power relays on the words….written or spoken. My grandmother used to say that this is my greatest blessing. I couldn’t get her than but I do now and I do hope she is proud of what I am about to achieve. …I guess she will give me her feedback when we’ll meet in heaven….if I make it up there.

My vision of “changing the world” does not make sense without proper knowledge. I like to hepl and inspire others….and while inspiring is easy as I stay positive and make each moment a great moment, helping was not always efficient You know….many people, different personalities, backgrounds… Soooo, I decided to study psychology. It was for getting a better understanding of myself and others. I’m quite something, I must admit “ I’m rare….I’m  well aware that I’m rare”. 😊 Just imagine I have 3 cats, although I love dogs. I put so much passion in my work that I urn over some really good offers, I made this amazing team that feels like “family” and I am still in a country where I know I won’t be able to settle. And before you judge the “crazy lady with cats” stereotype let me tell you that I was “crazy” way before I had these beasts. Some people will call me strange, delusional,flower-power or crazy….but guess what?!…”I couldn’t care less about what people say”!

Going back on helping people, I do believe that talking with sense, from a point of great knowledge (which you can’t get only from your life experiences, obviously) really makes a difference as you can assist others in a more efficient way.

To get all the knowledge so essential for what I have envisioned as being my reality, my life, I have decided to go to university and study the “wonders of the human brain and behavior”. I chose Transilvania University in Romania as studying in UAE would have required at least 2 more full time jobs, in order to be able to pay the university tuition fees. They say as you mature you must make smart choices and good investments so getting the same level education at a significantly lower rate seems to be the greatest investment that I’m doing his days. 🙂

In 2019 I was back in Romania submitting my file for admission. I don’t know if you see signs as often as I do (oh yes….I see signs everywhere I look, and probably you do as well, just open your eyes and your mind). I was admitted the 10^th on the list of 150+ applicants. It is not the rank on the list, it is the meaning of the number, 10. Right then and there, I knew that I would make the most of this journey and that I’ll put in all my efforts to get the information I need to become the best psychologist/therapist I could ever be.  I still have a year to go, but so far, I’m enjoying every step of the way, all the challenges, the deadlines for my projects, the long study hours after 12 AM, the exams, the “super worried and anxious” colleagues and especially professor Clinciu. I do hope some day he’ll be my physiologist as you know what they say…”every psychologist needs its psychologist”. 😊.

As you may have noticed, by now, I write a lot, and as I have mentioned before, I talk even more. Maybe you know me and you know I’m super honest about my “skills” and if you do not know me…life is unpredictable and the world is a small place…Sometimes I wish I would have this “super power” to be able to write with my 2 hands, different things, simultaneously. And as add-on “power” to that super power, I wish I had the ability to voice all my thoughts without using words. Most of the time the words don’t seem to be enough to portrait what I truly see in this life and what I feel, and, as all of you, my thoughts speed exceeds my verbal or written debit. And now that I wrote down my wish so who knows?!…Maybe Santa will consider my special request and surprise me  for Christmas this year. Although I can accept such gifts at any point of time, so I’ll surely have it for New Year, or for my birthday…or…anytime after…😊

But, back to the Rise of the Happy Doctor. Ever since I started my studies, I always have this short and sweet so called “Academic Holiday” when I go to Romania to mix the pleasure with academic work (and the mix is one of its kind, take my word on that).  On the academic side I do go for exams, although I have never attended a course so far. So far I took all my exams, so I guess individual study and a high level of inner motivation (called intrinsic motivation in psychology) works well for me. On the holiday side, I do spend precious moments with Anda, Hanan and Majed, momants that are turned into life-time precious memories. Hanan is my favorite niece, and because she is my only niece, I will refer of her as being the best friend I’ll ever have. I always liked kids as the adventurous and naughty kid inside my mind is eager to be unleashed.  Every time, I spend moments with kids I have loads of fun and somehow, it is the best time of my life. Sometimes I believe I might just have twins hidden in my mind…I could go for ages telling you about my little friends and how crazy we get when we spend time together but I wouldn’t want your “dark mind” to portrait some scenarios. After all we live in an era when “politically correct” , judgemental thoughts and assumptions rule!

Hanan was really thrilled to know that I will be coming more often home for my academic holidays. After all, before that I was not able to travel so often…yes…due to the nature of my job. She became particularly interested in the reason why I study and what is psychology all about. I’m telling you, at 6 years old, she is a great discussion partner as she is super smart and funny (she took the smartness from her mom and for sure the sense of humor from me).

I do recall our discussion back in 2019:

“Tuși, but what do you mean by psychologist. What is that?”

“I will study, take my degree and I will become a psychologist, like a doctor; I will study the brain and the human behavior and brain so I can help people.”

” So, you will be a doctor and you will treat the brain of the people in a hospital? You will make surgery?”

“Aaaaa….not really. I will treat them in a therapy room. I will talk with them, give them advice….I will be more of a HAPPY DOCTOR. I will make them happy without injections or surgeries.”

“A happy doctor? Tuși Laura there is no such thing.”

“I know, but you know what?! I will be the first happy doctor and all I will do is to paint a smile on their faces as I will make them happy and I will make their life better.”

And this is how Happy Doctor was “born”, this is The raise of the Happy Doctor!!! We came with it together in one of those deep and meaningful conversations that we always have. As I said, Hanan is a great discussion partner. You must know similar people too, and if you don’t think of any, take my advice, surround yourself with smart people, people that you can disuss any topic. This will challenge your brain and will open up new perspectives. After all they do say that brain acts like a muscle…and here, at Abu Dhabi Country Club, we do advise people to train their muscles regulary, otherwise they just might loose them. The mechanism is slightly different as the brain is a “muscle” that once lost…can never be gained back.

Now, for any of you having kids, marketing background or any knowledge about kids’ psychology, you can just imagine how excited Hanan was with this “new profession”. It went to the extend where she is really determined to become a Happy Doctor as well. It’s quite amazing how on her 6^th year of life she has this goal, a “professional revelation” and a path in life. She gave up all other options like teacher, astronaut or ballerina. Evan now, almost 2 years after our conversation, she still calls me Happy Doctor as being the title that she gives me when presenting me to her friends. She always mentions that she will become a Happy Doctor as well and that together as “One team, One goal” we will make people happy and help this world become a better place. Sometimes, when she will upset her mom, she calls me asking for my help as “some cases and patients require team work as only together we can make Anda happy”.

Now, as a dreamer, as a writer and as a future psychologist I do believe words have  a great energy and vibration and that short positive statements can “brainwash you” into seeing the good in every situation. For the ones that meet me in real life, you know that I use quite often statements like: “ One team, One Goal”, “Don’t focus you’re attention on the problem, focus on finding solutions”, “Everything is as it should be” and so on and on…. Some people may say I abuse this statements as I obsessively repeat them but,” I couldn’t care less” as I see the greater meaning in that and a higher purpose to all of this. For Happy Doctor, the statement is “Be Happy, Get Lucky’! 😊

To be honest, I and Hanan, we really are indeed Happy Doctors and we were born like this.

 A simile can change a moment. Working in a customer relation field I do use the smile to distress tension moments, to encourage discussions, to show appreciation and empathy and….for many more reasons (I guess my happy team of customers journey experts can tell you why the smile is a signature for us here). Any moment can then change the day and there it is : the day can then change a life! I just wish people would smile more. Kids, men, teenagers, ladies…. your charm reflects in your smile. And do not worry about a thing, the smile wrinkles can be easily erased with fillers, so don’t hold back. 😉

 There is also this psychological trick that has neurological studies behind it. Only by smiling (even when you do not feel happy) you may fool your brain into embracing a positive state of mind. I guess you all heard that once your brain has a positive set, it releases serotonin, known as the happiness hormone. This hormone helps you boost your immunity, regenerate your cells and tissues and display a youthful look. It also activates your synapses into speeding up the “thinking” that happens in your brain. Yes…you guessed it…your mind gets sharp and you become smarter. On the opposite side, once your brain experiences stress, anxiety, sadness, or fear, it releases cortisol, a terrible hormone that f***s everything up. But that’s a story that I’ll keep for later.

Going back to the smile…..You just imagine how such a small gesture holds all this energy and all this benefits. The smile is contagious…You may not believe me, as I’m not holding a degree in psychology, yet and again, “ I couldn’t care less” (just to clarify…this statement must be treated a “pamphlet” a joke with a seed or reality, one of many more to come, because somehow I can’t say anything without joking in between, before and after). But the power of smile is no joke , my reader friend! And if you still don’t believe it, because you’re super serious, and rational and all the things you tell yourself just to stay serious, JUST TRY IT! Take your eyes off the screen now and smile to the first person that you see. It may be an office colleague, a family member, your loved one, a friend or just a complete stranger. Do not look for the sense of it, just go with the flow and allow yourself to have this experience. And see what happens…

So YES, I am the Happy Doctor and I’ll always pain a smile on people’s faces. And my niece, oh yes, she is a Happy Doctor as well. We might share some secrets that will never be disclosed (as we  have “signed a confidentiality agreement with God)  but we will put our life in the service of people and act towards achieving our life goal: happier people & a better world!

So you just focus, SMILE and “Be happy to Get lucky” as the universe will take care of the rest. That is the Happy Doctor advice for today, and any other day! 😊