As the crocuses emerge and spring holidays arrive, we are reminded of the possibility for renewal.
Now that spring is here, you may being thinking about your life being a bit different. If you’re behaving less than ideally, note it, recognize what may be contributing factors.
With self-compassion allow yourself to feel the discomfort that often accompanies a desire for change. You may become aware that you are overwhelmed or feel like you’re overextended. Nurses and physicians are used to plowing through, staying into the following shift in order to cover patients. Physician training forced you to plow through your own fatigue, and once in practice you may have to be on call and go in to care for patients, even in the middle of the night. Perhaps you notice that you’re feeling more restless or anxious than you would like, or that you’re more short-tempered with those you love. These are your wake up calls to pay attention and ask yourself, “What’s going on… What’s the discomfort or distress that I’m experiencing?”
Nurses and physicians sometimes disconnect from the sense of meaning which may have directed them to these professions. This may show up in your thinking more about the diagnosis, documentation and room numbers rather than the patients themselves. The literature refers to this as “depersonalization,” one sign of burnout for healthcare professionals.
One way for you to renew your energy for the work is by reconnecting to times when you felt the work was meaningful. Here’s a way for you to reconnect.
- Recall what made you choose your line of work.
- Then recall a time when you felt really alive and that you were contributing to the welfare of your patient(s), a fulfilling professional encounter.
- Capture this moment, give it a name and use this as an inner resource. Think about what it was that you were doing and how you were being that made that interaction so powerful.
- From that episode, what can you bring to your present and future encounters that will lead you closer to fulfillment?
The episode can be recalled when you prepare for work and during work. With regularly connecting to its significance, the episode will take on a symbolism that you can draw on when you feel challenged. You can inspire yourself. Recalling this encounter also will help you to identify the components of fulfilling professional work that you want to incorporate into your life.
Let us know what your fulfilling encounter is. It has the potential to inspire others too.
To move from burnout to well-being, contact me for a consultation.
Revitalize Your Life,
Dina, 203.744.YOU3 (9683), Well-Being Coach
Improving well-being for professionals through coaching.
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