Harmony Over Balance: A Lesson from the 10th Annual Hint Summit

I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel at the 10th annual Hint Summit alongside Dr. Staci Benson and Dr. Jamie Baines.

Our conversation centered on harmony—the theme of this year’s conference and a concept that clearly resonated with many in the room.

As women in Direct Primary Care, we often wear multiple hats—physician, business owner, wife/partner, mom, community leader, daughter, etc. The traditional idea of “balance” suggests that each role should receive equal time and attention. But that is completely unrealistic.

Instead, we discussed how harmony offers a more realistic and sustainable approach.

Harmony is the ability to let different parts of your life—work, family, self—shift and coexist, while still feeling whole, even when they’re not receiving equal attention.

During the panel, Dr. Baines posed a question:

When is a time you dropped the ball in one area of life while things were going well in another?

I didn’t have to think long—I had a fresh example from that very week.

Before running my practice, I was highly organized at home. Birthdays, gatherings, and vacations were planned months in advance, down to the smallest detail.

Now, that same planning energy must be shared with my business—and most days, the business requires the greater share.

Like many of my colleagues, I’ve learned to shift my energy based on the season. But the tradeoff is a reduced margin for everything else.

This became clear during a recent family trip.

I had secured our lodging well in advance, mapped our travel route, and coordinated meals. But when it came time to book tours at Mammoth Cave National Park, nearly all were fully booked—except for a single self-guided option that didn’t include the areas we had hoped to explore.

It was a simple oversight, but a frustrating one.

And yet, in that moment, my husband and son offered a different perspective:

“Don’t worry. We’ll have a great time no matter what.”

And we did.

We adjusted. We explored. We relied on local recommendations and discovered places we might not have otherwise considered. What began as a missed opportunity became a meaningful and memorable experience.

That, to me, is what harmony looks like.

Not everything receiving equal attention at all times,

but the ability to remain grounded in your values and trust that things will come together.

It requires letting go of perfection, allowing flexibility, and recognizing that sometimes others will step in and rise to the occasion.

In Direct Primary Care, we often talk about reclaiming time—for our patients, for our work, and for ourselves.

Perhaps the next step is learning how to live within that time—not by perfectly balancing it, but by creating harmony within it.