Finding Joy: The Power of Your “Third Thing
Spring has arrived in the Midwest, and recently I’ve spent a good chunk of my Saturday blowing leaves, trimming back deadwood, and preparing the yard for the growing season.
I love getting my hands dirty.
Our yard is a bit of an experiment. We grow vegetables and herbs, have a raspberry patch and a few fruit trees. We mix native plants with a few tropicals and keep birdfeeders out to attract wildlife.
And to be honest—I have no idea what I’m doing.
I’ve asked neighbors for advice, searched online, and wandered through local nurseries trying to figure it out. I’m more experienced than a complete novice, but definitely not a professional—and I like it that way.
There is something freeing about doing something you are not expected to be good at.
Since stepping away from full-time clinical work, I’ve spent a little more time with our local Master Gardeners group. Not because I want to become a Master Gardener—but because I enjoy learning.
Sometimes, getting dirty in the yard makes me feel like a kid again.
It’s fun to grow our own food. And when the inevitable happens—a plant dies or a woodchuck gets into the garden—it doesn’t really matter.
That’s a stark contrast to medicine, where even small decisions can feel heavy.
In the garden, the stakes are low. The learning is real. And the joy is immediate.
Gardening, for me, is one of my “third things.”
What Is a “Third Thing” (and Why Physicians Need Hobbies)
Most physicians live in two dominant worlds:
- Work — clinical care, documentation, leadership, responsibility
- Home — family, relationships, obligations
Both matter deeply. Both demand a lot.
But when those are the only two spaces we occupy, something gets lost.
Your “third thing” is the space where you get to be curious again.
No expectations. No performance metrics. No identity to protect.
It’s a hobby, a craft, or an interest that exists outside of your professional and personal roles.
It’s where you learn for the sake of learning.
Where mistakes don’t define you.
Where growth feels light again.
Why Hobbies Help Physicians Reduce Burnout
Medicine trains us to operate in high-stakes environments.
We are rewarded for precision, efficiency, and competence. Over time, that mindset expands beyond the hospital and into the rest of our lives.
Everything starts to feel important.
Everything starts to feel like it matters too much.
And slowly, joy gets squeezed out.
But here’s what the data—and lived experience—tell us:
Physicians with active hobbies experience lower burnout, greater engagement, and improved well-being.
Hobbies are not distractions from your work.
They are what make your work sustainable.
They reconnect you to:
- Curiosity
- Creativity
- Play
- Identity beyond medicine
In other words—they help you become a more complete human being, not just a better physician.
How Low-Stakes Hobbies Reduce Burnout in Physicians
One of the most important features of a “third thing” is this:
It has to be low stakes.
No one is grading your performance or evaluating your efficiency.
No one expects mastery.
In my garden, failure looks like:
- A plant that doesn’t grow
- A poorly placed seed
- A woodchuck enjoying my hard work
And that’s okay.
When the stakes are low, learning becomes fun again.
That’s something many of us haven’t felt since before medical school.
How to Find Your Third Thing
If this resonates with you but you’re not sure where to start, keep it simple:
1. Revisit your past
What did you enjoy before medicine took over?
2. Follow curiosity, not productivity
If it feels like “another thing to optimize,” it’s not your third thing.
3. Start small
A few minutes a week is enough.
4. Let yourself be bad at it
This might be the most important step.
5. Consider making it social
Connection amplifies the benefit.
Learning, Joy, and Being Human Again
I don’t garden to become an expert.
I garden because it reminds me of something I didn’t realize I had lost.
The ability to:
- Play
- Experiment
- Learn without pressure
- Enjoy the process
It’s one of the few places in my life where nothing is on the line.
And that’s exactly why it matters.
Finding joy doesn’t require a life overhaul.
Sometimes it just requires a third space.
Continue the Conversation
If this idea resonates, you can explore more here:
- My KevinMD article on rediscovering hobbies
- Physician Dog Ownership: Rediscovering Balance and Values
- Physician Burnout, Moral Injury & Ordinary Joy (Cornerstone)
Final Thought
You’ve spent years developing your clinical skills.
You’ve built a career around competence, responsibility, and impact.
But to sustain that career—to truly enjoy it—you need something else.
You need a space where you can simply be a beginner again.
For me, that space is a garden.
What will yours be?
Dr. Ben Reinking is a pediatric cardiologist, educator, and physician coach. Through The Developing Doctor, he helps physicians build sustainable, values-aligned careers by developing the nonclinical skills that medicine never taught them.
Identify. Act. Reconnect.
