What's on Your Mind?
So much talk about healthcare these days.
Hopefully some good will come out of it. Some days it seems like a lot of folks
who don’t know that much about healthcare are doing most of the talking.
Suddenly reporters and celebrities have all become healthcare experts.
For us it is simpler. For those of us who actually
work in healthcare, we all basically want the same thing: to help people. Few of
us went into healthcare to get rich or for the glamorous clothes we get to wear
(designer scrubs anyone?). No. We were “called” to make a difference in this
world. We want to save people, or comfort them or heal them. This is hard work.
It is rewarding…but it takes a lot to be a nurse, or any of the other roles that
one might play in healthcare. Nursing school is rewarding but it is also tough!
We were “called” to make a difference in this
world.
So what about “us?” What do you do when you have
given so much of “self” that you feel as if there is not much left to give? What
do you do when the enthusiasm, the passion the inspiration that you once had
feels like it is slipping away, or worse, gone? Can you continue to give more
than you have? How long can you run your “tank” on empty? Is it that we need
more “skills” and training to feel connected to our inspiration or is this a
matter of spirit? I vote on the side of spirit for this one. If you’ve been in
healthcare for more than 10 minutes you know that when you are most passionate,
most inspired and most energized is when you are at your best. Are you willing
to work at this a little? Let’s start with just one thing you can do today… You
just have to be willing to put skepticism aside and to try it out…
1. Look for the “good.” Sounds simple? Really? How many minutes of your clinical
or school day, do you spend thinking and talking about all of the things that
went well? All that you or others did right? All that you see as positive? Now
how many minutes do you spend talking and thinking about what wasn’t working?
Who didn’t have a good attitude and what you were lacking? If you’re like most
of us, the latter may be where you tend to focus a little more than the other.
Why? Maybe because we’re in healthcare and we’re trained to look for what’s
wrong. We spend most of our professional life and education looking for illness,
what’s broken and what’s out of place. No one in nursing school ever reviews the
questions they got RIGHT on an exam!
How you think determines how you feel.
For one day. Just one day. Make it a priority to be on the lookout for what’s
going well. I know this sounds simple, but trust me on this one, this is harder
than it sounds. The purpose of this is to show you how you think and to help you
work on shifting to a more positive mindset. How you think determines how you
feel. Period. To be blunt, you can control very few things but you can control
your thoughts and if you can do that, it is amazing how things can change. To
not do so is to be a victim.
Try this for one day. Look for and notice what
went well. Who did a great job and what was positive about your day. At the end
of your day, commit to keeping a journal and write about it. There is great
power in how you think.
Think differently today. Be well. Stay Inspired.
Rich Bluni is the keynote speaker at
NASN2015 on June 24th from 8:15 AM - 9:30 AM.
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