LEE ANN LAU, MD

THE CLARITY PROJECT: 

MY JOURNEY FROM DOING TO BEING

Who hasn’t had a trainwreck week? The one where work runs late, the meticulously packed schedule unravels, and plans - which have been eagerly anticipated for months - fall apart?

In March of 2015, that was me. The moment when I felt completely demoralized in my life wasn’t during a complex surgery, but on a Thursday afternoon as I was supposed to be heading out for a much-anticipated spring break trip. The car was packed and my family was waiting, but I couldn’t leave clinic on time. I cried the whole drive home and was so angry, frustrated, and crushed when I arrived to see my deflated children. I wasn’t just late; I felt like I was failing to be the parent I wanted to be.

That moment - and the reflection that followed - was my first brush with intentionality. I evaluated my life as a busy surgeon, wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. The numerous demands frequently left me feeling overwhelmed and stretched thin. I often felt as though I was not excelling at anything and merely going through the motions. I finally asked the question that changed everything:

What do I want my life to look like, and are my actions truly aligned with my priorities?

The answer was a resounding “no”. I was letting life unfold around me. To live by my priorities, I needed to intentionally make decisions that aligned with those priorities. This realization enabled a courageous decision. I would leave my full-time career as a surgeon, and my family would travel the United States and Canada in an RV for 15 months. This was a physical manifestation of the choice to live in alignment with my values.

Since then, I've discovered that while this decision seemed extraordinary to others, there was nothing unique about our family. The only difference was that we did the hard work of asking what mattered and then focusing on it. This work was transformative for me, enhancing both my life-satisfaction and confidence in my decision-making.

This confidence allowed me to step off the typical career path, moving from the operating room to palliative medicine and then to home-based medical care. My journey drew colleagues and friends to me for advice on similar life challenges and coaching felt like the ‘next right thing’ in my career.

I use the skills I’ve developed over the years - situational awareness, clear-headed thinking, and empathetic communication - to help my clients unlock their confidence to align their careers, families, and personal lives with what matters most. It all starts with the courage to clarify priorities and then live with intention, the journey from chaos to clarity.