You are not One-Dimensional. A Takeaway from Hospital Playlist.

The corporate world makes it is easy to define yourself with your title as you move up the corporate ladder. Getting promoted from rank and file to Assistant Manager and all the way to Executive Vice President (and President if you are very, very driven—and lucky) is the goal.

After dabbling in that world for more than half a decade, I was not immune from finding my purpose and worth in job titles and ranks. The more I looked at my life through this lens, the more the idea of a “holistic self” was pushed to the back of my mind. As the years passed, my stagnation in rank felt more like a dead-end than a stepping stone for greater opportunities. The title I held on to was tainted with a shadow of shame instead of pride.

It took me a Pandemic and years of long-suffering to open my eyes to the reality that my job is just one piece of a puzzle that defines who I am. So watching the Hospital Playlist on Netflix struck a chord in me that I know many would relate to as well. 

This Korean Series on Netflix has helped me acknowledge that I am so much more than my job title. We will always have time to be sons/daughters, romantic partners, and friends. We can make time to do what we love despite busy schedules (even just once a month).

You could still grow in ways outside of your work.

SPOILER ALERT. SOME SCENES DISCUSSED FROM THIS POINT ONWARD MAY MAINTAIN SPOILERS.

We are all Busy People.

Doctors are one of the busiest of the crop as they are on call even in the most unexpected hours of the day. Doctors know all too well that they could abruptly leave in the middle of a vacation, or at the height of some celebration. Unlike regular folk, they would have to attend to emergencies outside that of their immediate family or friends.

But being busy with work does not mean that that is our life.

The group of friends in this K-Series had to navigate through their careers to still enjoy a day at a campsite and schedule dinners together once a month. Although some of the members of this friend group had to ditch the plans at the last minute for emergency operations, they made it a point to squeeze these plans into their schedules. 

Although they carried the title “Doctor”, even surgeon, that title did not hold them back from singing off-key to their favorite songs in a Karaoke bar or from coming together for lunch (daily if they could). Aside from being one of the leaders in their respective specialties, they were even able to nurture and grow romantic relationships throughout the series.

Watching this series with my mom (also a doctor) and my younger sister, I pined for a life that could juggle more things in a day than just work and house chores. My heart also ached for weather-resistant friendships despite the busy schedules of everyone.

My previous work environment may not have been ideal for such friendships, but that does not mean my doors are closed to the possibility. The only disadvantage I have against these doctors is the tenure of their friendship, having met in Med school and completing their respective specializations (and sub-specializations) throughout the years. Their bonds are stronger than any friendship I have built since high school.

Time For Family is as Important

The only comment I have with the idea that your life is multi-faceted is that I hoped to see more of U-Ju, the son of Ik-Jun, in the series. Ik-Jun is a general surgeon who specialized as well in liver transplants. Being a single father should mean that Ik-Jun should have been the busiest of them all as he was supposedly juggling his medical career, fatherly duties, as well as personal passions or relationships.

Although each character in the series was given moments of reflection and time to spend with their respective families, this was not as emphasized since they were adults in their late 30s to early 40s navigating their careers independently. Even so, the show did remind us that these full-grown adults were still very much a brother/sister or a son/daughter. This part of their identity was still intertwined in their adult lives. You can never escape it.

And even if running away seems like the best option for yourself sometimes, you will never get to deny the fact that is still a part of who you are.

Song-Hwa was a really busy Neuro-Surgeon which in effect made her push her mother away. Regrets then ensued when her mom was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. It was only when similar issues with the parents/siblings of her friends arose that they decided to dedicate more time to the family they already had.

Aside from being doctors, they valued or learned to value their roles as children and siblings as a part of their adult lives. 

Everyone desires immense independence and sometimes closes the doors to their past when they officially become adults. It is important to know, understand and accept that the past has shaped who you are today instead of burying your past experiences at the back of your mind.

I know my childhood was not perfect and I hoped certain things were different. And since these are things I can no longer change, I have been learning to accept what I do have/still have and move forward with it.

Maybe, even embracing and accepting these would save us from regrets as we navigate this life.

Do what you Love

I have never heard of someone whose passion was to perform open-heart surgeries, but Jun-Wan had to do this regularly as a Cardiothoracic surgeon.

His role as a doctor did not mean that he could not learn to play the guitar and be in a band with a group of his friends at the age of 40.

These late 30 or early 40 years old made it a point to jam together once a month. Playing music was something each of them enjoyed, as evidenced by their beaming faces during the jamming sessions.

Our protagonists held titles the word looked up to, but they were so much more than medical practitioners. Aside from their love of the music, they went out and did the things they cared about, like camping on the weekends, enjoying memorized golf courses like the back of their hands, or spending time with their mothers.

It is my folly to have been too focused on the demands of work by day and cared only of mindless scrolling by night. I spent weekends asleep or busy with ministry activities and taking my dog out to the park. In essence, I believe I let myself go and chose comfort over bettering myself and improving skills outside of work.

I stopped doing things I liked, such as writing, reading, playing music, and dancing. I was fortunate that I was pretty much forced to step up the singing game for the ministry I was involved in, even if I was not fully convinced of my talent there. Right now, I even wish that I could develop it (I honestly don’t know what I am doing).

Our protagonists made it a point to practice their music on their own and come together once a month to perform. Aside from mastering their respective instruments, each member even worked on learning to sing for certain songs, and lastly, they made time to go out and master personal activities such as camping.

It has then been easy for me to look around and envy the people who were able to sustain and grow all the other facets of their lives while holding down a full-time job. I also looked up to the people who did what they loved for a living. I was enamored with the quote: “Choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” – Confucius.

After talks with a cousin I hold dearly in my heart, we agreed that work is only meant to keep us afloat, not drain the life out. Work should merely sustain us so we could pursue things that are beyond us. If not be our passion. Our conversation was shared over this interesting article that I hope you could take the time to read, as well.

May each facet of your life bloom to its full potential, and may your work never hold you down from being a person you are proud of.