The vacation had been planned for months. With laptop in hand, I headed to my happy place… my favorite place in the sun. I was excited to check some things off my to-do list while enjoying the sun, the beach, and the breeze.

But things didn’t go as planned. For the next ten days, the internet service was out. Despite my daily calls to the service provider, hoping for a fix, it just wasn’t meant to be.

I was faced with a choice. I could focus on the lack of internet service and stress about the inability to stream television or tackle my to-do list. Or, I could step outside, where palm trees swayed, the sun was shining, and birds chirped joyfully.

While I held out hope each morning for the service to be restored, I surrendered to what was… no internet service, which meant abandoning the previous plans to get some work done on this vacation.

Here’s what I learned from those ten days of unplanned disconnection:

There is power in surrendering. I often think of surrender as giving up. But it isn’t. Surrender is not about defeat. It’s about finding peace with the present reality. From a place of acceptance, I get to choose how to respond and how I want to feel.

Yes, it’s easy to surrender when the alternative is walking on the beach and basking in the sun. But beneath that surface choice is something much deeper… the chance to use my forced disconnection from the internet to reconnect with my higher self.

In the quiet moments, free from emails, deadlines, and the noise of the NICU, I found space to listen to my inner voice. That voice, often drowned out by the constant noise of life, could finally be heard, acknowledged, and even celebrated.

All is well. This phrase is easy to say, but living it is something entirely different. It’s often said in the midst of life’s challenges, as we look around and focus on the ways our professional and personal life is not where we desire it to be. We see what’s not working, what needs to be fixed, changed, or improved.

There is a grace, a sense of peace that comes from embodying that “all is well,” even when the present reality differs from our desires. It’s the opportunity to release and let go of the way we want it to be and allow life to flow.

During this internet-free vacation, I realized something powerful: I hadn’t created space for “all is well” to truly exist in my life and especially in my medical career. Instead, I had been consumed by the need to fix, improve, or escape.

This vacation turned out to be one of the best.

Disconnecting to reconnect is a gift I hadn’t asked for, yet desperately needed. I welcomed the opportunity to slow down, to be in the silence, to be with my inner voice and my higher self.

As I re-engage with my clinical work life, I’m taking these lessons with me. My curiosity is piqued as to where I may embody surrender and “all is well” even more as strategies to combat the stress and overwhelm that often plague the clinical experience.

Stephanie Wellington is a physician, certified professional coach, and founder of Nurturing MDs, dedicated to guiding physicians from stress and overwhelm to ease and flow in the demanding medical field. She empowers clinicians to infuse new energy into their careers and reconnect with their identities beyond the stethoscope. She can also be reached on Facebook and LinkedIn.

She is a speaker, author, and recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award. If stress and overwhelm are part of your practice, get started with the free guide: “15 Ways to Infuse New Energy.”