I came to Dr. Sood and his teachings several years ago to find happiness. The many facets of my career as a physician anesthesiologist were demanding too much of my time. In addition, a series of illnesses and injuries had depleted my physical reserves. While my time with patients was still enjoyable, I was impatient with nurses and colleagues and distant from my family at home. I was physically and emotionally exhausted and recognized that I needed help. I enrolled in Dr. Sood’s weekend course for stress management and resiliency training (Transform). In fact, my whole family took the course because I knew my life couldn’t change without their help. Together we learned about Amit’s simple but deep philosophies for resilient living. With my family’s assistance, I changed the way I interpreted the world and the way I interacted with everyone around me. My wife, Patti, and my two children, Sam and Jackie, inevitably changed as well and together we have continued to incorporate the SMART principles into our daily lives. Through our work with Dr. Sood, we now live with more gratitude, compassion and a deeper connection to our external world. Dr. Sood’s teachings were put to the test a year and a half ago when I was diagnosed with early stage pancreatic cancer. After my diagnosis, I reached out to Amit who encouraged me not to fight the cancer myself but to allow my doctors to battle it for me. He suggested that I focus my energy only on what was in my control. He helped my family and I gain perspective and acceptance.  Throughout many rounds of chemotherapy and my recovery from surgery, he helped me learn to zoom in and zoom out to make the treatments more tolerable. Most importantly, he taught me not to chase happiness, but rather to chase meaning; to live a life of purpose and exist for humanity.

Chair, Department of Anesthesia
Rose Medical Center
Denver, CO  80220