Xploreza is growing. Today we introduce you to our new columnist, Dr Lerato Lovelee Masemola. She brings a wealth of experience in health, wellness, fitness, and all things beautiful. She is about finding a true balance in life and will be sharing her tools and strategies to strive for that balance and live life to the fullest. Her column will appear on Thursdays from next week. Today, we have a pleasure to get to know her and have a sneak preview of what we can expect from next week. Don’t miss out.
Meet Dr Lerato Lovelee Masemola, in her own words.
I am a daughter, sister, mother, doctor, fitness fanatic, wellness ambassador, thought leader, writer and keynote speaker.
I love music, photography, art, and travel. I live my life authentically and just do my best to understand myself more so that I can understand others better. I like many more things but overall, I am a liker of all things Lovelee.
I have had many role models at various stages of my life. But the ones that will be quite cliché are Oprah and Dr Maya Angelou. These two women just come quickly to mind because TV connected me to them when I was a teenager going through the most. Their life stories resonated with me on a deeper level and inadvertently helped me through a very tumultuous period in my teenage years. I heard what they went through and I saw where they were and what they had achieved in life and it just gave me the courage to want to live and do something awesome with my life. I felt like I had a faraway tribe of women who had walked a similar path I was walking and they were cheering me on and saying “keep going, it gets better.”
And this is why I firmly believe that sharing is caring, that not only do our individual life stories matter, but it is important to share them as they can heal others.
The passion to talk about the things I do talk/ write about comes from the love of sharing as a way of caring. I share experiences both on a personal level and from professional encounters. These range from health and wellness education, everyday life things like parenting and relationships, lifestyle things like travel and attending events, and what people consider to be extreme outdoor activities from running ultra marathons like the comrades to summiting high altitude mountains like Kilimanjaro. I have many interests and don’t like to be boxed into any category, so there is a plethora of experiences to draw from when I talk or write.
I’ve done quite a few things since qualifying with my junior degree in 2002. Most of my career has been centred around medicine itself though I have done other things besides diagnose and treat illnesses. I worked as a clinical doctor for most of the 22years since I qualified. I was also a forensic pathologist in training for 3 years until life took me on another path. I consulted for an IT company that was developing an electronic health record system for Gauteng public hospitals. I sat on the board of an NGO for several years. I also did a lot of media work ranging from a monthly ‘Ask a doctor’ column in a local publication to being part of a panel of experts on a medical TV show and also as a TV presenter for a morning TV show for their health segment.
I am a general medical practitioner, or what some call a family physician or house doctor. I also do Aesthetic and regenerative medicine focusing on the holistic management of the body both inside and out. It ranges from skin treatments to IV nutrition therapies for various needs to weight loss management as part of improvement for general health overall and treatment and reversal of certain chronic conditions.
My first career highlight would be surviving my community service in a very remote hospital without much senior support. That year taught me a lot as a doctor and also personally. It showed me just what I was made of and capable of. I rose above many professional challenges and how to think quickly on my feet. I was 24 years old, only a few months post internship, and had to step up and show up authoritatively for the community I was serving. So much happened that year I could write a book.
My other highlight has been ongoing since I opened my solo private practice in 2012. It was never my dream to have my own practice, it is something that happened organically and I find myself 12 years later just growing from strength to strength each year. From a small practice renting space inside a pharmacy to now owning my own medical centre in my own building and having other healthcare providers servicing my patients. I also have an aesthetic practice in the building.
I stay motivated by keeping simple things simple. By doing things that form part of my daily routine no matter the day or season. On difficult days, I feel great when I’ve ticked my usual boxes. I have simple reminders and mottos I live by and pull these out whenever I feel like life is pulling hard at me. And one of the rules I apply is the Universal law of duality. Simply put, “both can exist”. I can have a tough day AND still accomplish things that day. I can feel sadness, be overwhelmed and still get up and run that day. It doesn’t have to be “either or..”, it can be both. This has often prevented me from not waking up when I feel down. Because if I didn’t wake up, it would be easier to follow with “then you might as well not eat, or brush your teeth, or attempt to shower…” etc.
So, I focus on things that are within my ability, even if those things are simply taking care of my body that day. To tick and say I have done something worthwhile today feeds the self confidence to get up and try do better tomorrow.
The Xploreza audience can expect a variety of content from lifestyle and health and wellness… I have many interests and so I don’t like to limit myself to one particular thing. But the general theme that weaves through most of the topics will be wellness in all areas of life.
