The Art of Strategic Disengagement: Building AI-Forward Practices from Peace, Not Performance

Today, we're going to talk about something that might be the most important skill you'll need in 2026—and it has nothing to do with learning the latest AI tool or mastering a new clinical technique.

And fair warning: I'm going to make some changes to how I practice in 2026 and what I spend my time on. Because sometimes the best way to teach something is to actually *live* it.

We're talking about strategic disengagement. First, a definition. For this podcast, disengagement means permanently withdrawing from something or someone. Ending something.

Episode Timestamps [00:00] Open: The Scrap Book on the Shelf [02:13] Segment 1: The Performance Trap [12:07] Segment 2: The Identity Crisis That Isn't [20:12] Segment 3: Protecting Spaciousness [28:58] Segment 4: The AI-Forward Pivot [33:24] Segment 5: Your Action Step: The Mastermind Invitation [36:16] Closing: What's Complete? [38:10] Disclaimer

39:44 Total Run Time

Episode Notes & Resources:

**Mentioned in this Episode:** - Jenna Kutcher's Goal Digger Podcast (Episode 968) https://jennakutcherblog.com/a-new-chapter-for-goal-digger/ - Mayer, Z., & Freund, A. M. (in press). Better off without? Benefits and costs of resolving goal conflict through goal shelving and goal disengagement. Motivation and Emotion. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-022-09966-x - Oettingen, G., Marquardt, M. K., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2012). Mental contrasting turns positive feedback on creative potential into successful performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(5), 990–996. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.03.008 - Schwörer, B., Krott, N. R., & Oettingen, G. (2020). Saying goodbye and saying it well: Consequences of a (not) well-rounded ending. Motivation Science, 6(1), 21–33. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000126 - The Practice Scaling Mastermind: https://TheDoctorsMentor.com/mastermind-2026

**Action Steps from This Episode:** 1. Complete the Spaciousness Audit 2. Identify one thing you're good at that might be trapping you 3. Practice mental contrasting on a desired outcome where you are not seeing much movement 4. Join the 2026 Practice Scaling Mastermind