Zaz

Doctor, writer, coma survivor • Sharing lessons on health, mindset, contentment • I write to galvanise you to live a more fulfilled life

[Zaz @zazdoc]

3 years ago, I was in a coma.

Hooked up to a ventilator, I had 40% chance of survival.

I came out of it with a new perspective on life.

It was like I’d been unplugged from the matrix & my eyes were finally open.

Here are 13 life-changing lessons I learned:

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@MichaelRosenYes I felt something similar soon after waking up from a medically-induced coma after getting covid in 2020.

The dreams/nightmares while ‘asleep’ had felt more real than any memory.

I realised sadly that I’d been asleep my whole life… 40 years of existing but not really living.

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@doctor_oxford @PettyThom Wonderful connection!

I’m doctor who caught Covid in March 2020 & was ventilated for 2 weeks.

@MichaelRosenYes’s book of his Covid experience helped me through some dark moments.

#Breathtaking was a difficult & painful watch but has helped in a different way.

Thank you all 🙏

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@touniej Hey TJ, appreciate you 🙏.
I’ve been away to Mauritius and decided to switch off completely. It’s done me the world of good - refreshed, re-energised & looking forward to writing a bunch of content. How are you doing?

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@Theholisticpsyc As a father of 2 young children I felt it was my duty to sacrifice my time, energy & health. I did it happily.

Then I got Covid & ended up in a coma partly because I was so run down.

Lesson: Love yourself & make sure you’re alive, healthy & able to love others you care for.

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@dr_shai Is it because the attire was similar to what you wore for the RUMS hockey tour to Leeds in 2005?
And were you being chased by police again as a result?

[Zaz @zazdoc]

Life is too short to waste living in fear.

I used to fear:
⦁ failure
⦁ criticism
⦁ losing control

Then I got sick & ended up in a coma.

Now I fear:
⦁ regret
⦁ a life un-lived
⦁ not fulfilling my potential

It’s amazing what you can achieve when you’re not afraid to live.

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@JuliaPappasJoy Agree completely, Julia.

We have a (subconscious) tendency to over-complicate things… partly because it then makes it easier to quit.

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@Theholisticpsyc The only relationship worth fighting for is one where both people are fighting to strengthen the relationship together.

Fighting to save a relationship with someone who doesn’t feel you deserve the best version of themselves is a battle you’ve already lost.

[Zaz @zazdoc]

One day, when you become a diamond, you’ll understand why life put you under so much pressure.

Nothing worth having comes easy.

• Health
• Wealth
• Business
• Relationships

If you want to be great, you need to withstand the pressure and keep moving forward.

[Zaz @zazdoc]

When I was young, I thought I was clever & I wanted to change the world.

Then life came & taught me humility & wisdom.

So today, I try to change myself so I can contribute to society in some small way.

Today, I join hands with others as we try to build a better world together.

[Zaz @zazdoc]

Short-term results need:
• Passion
• Intensity
• Brilliance

Long-term results need:
• Patience
• Persistence
• Consistency

Apply a short-term game mentality to each day… while actually playing the long-term game.

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@domorebemoreNOW Thank you, Tom 🙏

[Zaz @zazdoc]

When feeling upset or angry with life... zoom out.

April 2020.
I’m a patient on a Covid ward.

I've become friends with the two great guys in the beds next to me. We make plans to meet when we leave…

I’m the only one who survives.

A thread about perspective and gratitude:
🧵

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@Pam_Rubin1 You say pretty much everything better than me, Pam 😁

[Zaz @zazdoc]

How to write great content:

• Go live a life worthy of sharing… then share it

Don’t sit down to write before you’ve stood up to live.

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@investingbff It was the same with me whenI started tweeting about 6 months ago.

Although I knew roughly what I wanted to say, it’d become over-complicated by all the Twitter growth advice.

It’s when I’ve brought it back to being about me that I’m more confident and growth has started too.

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@JuliaPappasJoy It’s what I teach my kids about fear…

• It’s ok to be afraid

• It’s not ok to let it control our lives

• Without fear we can never show how brave we are

• At some point we’ll have to face it - may as well be know

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@Yosoy11911 Thank you, appreciate the advice 🙏

[Zaz @zazdoc]

Long Covid has been beating the crap out of me recently.

Muscle fatigue, joint pains, brain fog…

Each day feels like going 15 rounds with prime ear-munching Mike Tyson.

Each evening I feel like I’ve been knocked down by the baddest man on the planet.

I’ll be honest…
I feel sorry for myself.

But I won’t stay down.

Because I have a ‘why’,
A reason to get up.

And my reason to get up is greater than his reason to knock me out.

I have two young children and I refuse to let them see their dad defeated.

So each day I get up and start again…

“You don’t know me, son. I’m gonna show you how great I am!”

The road back is long.
The journey is exhausting.
And I may never get back to where I was.

But I’ll be damned if I don’t end up somewhere more beautiful.

You only lose if you don’t get up again.

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@henlegardens Thank you, Joshua.

I haven’t forgotten about our catch up… hopefully soon!

Appreciate you 🙏

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@Theholisticpsyc Love grows in the small moments and little habits that are formed as a life is built together.

Sadly, it’s often truly appreciated by its loss.

[Zaz @zazdoc]

@chuckvtt @investingbff @JuliaPappasJoy Something I learned late is that there has to be joy in your life.

Something that makes living worthwhile - it’s not enough to just exist because life is too short.

That something is different for each of us.