Define your own happiness and success by celebrating milestones along the way.
Bio for Dr. Alan Akira
Dr. Alan Akira is a board-certified psychiatrist and the founder of Mugen Psychiatry, serving patients in the Chicago, IL area. His mission is to improve psychiatric care access, utilizing his skills in clinical decision-making, education, entrepreneurship, and healthcare management. He’s also an Assistant Professor at Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Akira completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and attended medical school at the University of South Alabama. He finished his psychiatry residency at Rush University, where he served in various leadership roles.
Dr. Akira’s clinical excellence has earned him numerous awards, including the Rush Emergency Medicine Consultant of the Year and Resident Physician of the Year from the Illinois Psychiatric Society. He’s also a recipient of the Aesculapius Award and the prestigious Roeske Award for Teaching from the APA. Additionally, he serves as an independent medical examiner for Cook County, providing expert psychiatric opinions.
Episode highlight
How do you define your happiness and success?
In this episode, Dr. Alan Akira shares some thought-provoking insights on how we can redefine happiness and success. He emphasizes the importance of celebrating our journeys, not just our successes.
Dr. Akira also shares a bit about his childhood, career, and the different experiences that have shaped him into the person he is today. Listen to learn more.
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-akira-md/
- LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mugen-psychiatry/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dr_Akira_MD
- Email: alan.akira@mugenpsychiatry.com
Quotes
- “The world doesn’t get any easier. You just tend to get better if you choose to.”
- “I’ve come to this conclusion where, we like to celebrate the outcome, but we should be celebrating the journey.”
- “One might not know where they’re going in the future, but most of the time, we know where we don’t want to be.”
Takeaways
Childhood Incidents:
Dr. Akira grew up in a household where his parents had blue-collar jobs, but financial stability was a rarity. As a young teenager, Dr. Akira experienced a lot of confusion, around money issues. These challenges snowballed into stress, anxiety, depression, irritability, and anger. Being an only child made it more difficult to manage these emotions. At some point, Dr. Akira questioned whether this was what life had to be. Thankfully, he had mentors who offered him glimpses of hope, showing him that there was more to life than his lived experience.
Cultural and Leadership Influences:
Dr. Akira’s grandparents moved to the United States and opened a fish market in New York. One thing Dr. Akira noticed was that they always put their employees first, and the dividends of this approach paid off in their interactions with customers. For instance, they always found reasons to celebrate with their employees, and it was always authentic, not calculated. At Mugen Psychiatry, Dr. Akira applies the same principle. He invests in both the clinicians’ present and future because he believes that happy clinicians do a better job.
Over time, Dr. Akira has redefined what success means. Reflecting on his younger self, at just eight years old, Dr. Akira became the youngest first-degree black belt in his school’s history. He was celebrated for his achievements, but no one acknowledged the hard work he had put in. He deeply believes that we should celebrate the journey, not just the end results.
Temperament and Personality:
Growing up, Dr. Akira was quiet, reserved, and quite introverted—preferring to sit alone rather than interact with others. No one would have ever imagined him as a psychiatrist. Over the years, he has become an “extroverted-appearing” introvert. He stepped out of his comfort zone and learned how to have conversations with other people.
Cultural Epiphanies:
Coming from Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Akira had a tough time understanding the Southern accent when he moved to Alabama. He recalls a day when he was attending a literature class, and the teacher was reading “Huck Finn” with a deep Southern accent that made Dr. Akira question whether she was reading in English which horrified him at the time.
What Brings Out the Best in Dr. Alan Akira?
Dr. Akira thrives when there is a fine balance that allows him to lean into things that recharge him. He is working on a study to help him understand what drains him versus what recharges him. He is also learning to appreciate that what recharges him might not work for others.
Soapbox Moment:
Dr. Akira challenges us to learn to define things operatively on an individual level and to allow ourselves permission to double down on what works for us. He also invites us to check out his weekly newsletter on LinkedIn.
Extro:
Dr. Akira was a reflective only child born in the U.S. to Korean and Chinese parents, with memories of his grandparents working in their fish market. It was in that context that he first experienced the power of showing care and support to employees. His grandparents celebrated every small win at work and supported the efforts of their employees, earning deep loyalty and respect from the staff. Later, he was mentored by a particularly helpful Taekwondo instructor who helped him develop the discipline he has used throughout his life. Now, as an accomplished psychiatrist with employees of his own, Dr. Akira embraces internally the same model he helps his clients cultivate: true happiness comes from seeing what you can give to be of service to others. From my interview with Dr. Alan Akira, here are a few gems of wisdom that stand out in my mind:
- Suffering becomes a way to serve, as you go beyond it to find purpose through that suffering.
- Developing the character traits you need to solve your own problems requires regularly stepping out of your comfort zone to practice them.
- As an introvert, Dr. Akira is mindful of how his energy is depleted during the day, and he spends time in silent thought each day to balance himself.
- One may feel empathy toward another person, but if empathy reinforces the only life experience they know, it may not serve them. Considering “What if…” can open up possibilities and start a new, hopeful train of thought.
