In the Thick of It

The holiday season is upon us. Right upon us, for those of us who celebrate Christmas. And I must admit, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this time of year. Well, in talking with my sister this past fall- apparently I love all times of year. (But that’s another story.)

• I love the lights. My entire home is filled (inside and out) with Christmas lighting. I just love the soft glow.
• I love the music. I love to sign in the car to-and-from work. I know every word so it’s easy to belt it out.
• I love the joy. Really. The smiles. The magic. The laughter. The inspiration of spirit. Just the entire love of the whole thing.

My family joked with me the other day on the phone: “We’ve promoted you. You’re no longer Elf #2.”

“What am I?” I asked. “Elf #1!” (which was formally my Mother).

“No, you’re Santa.”

The Spirit of Joy

Now that came as a shock to me. Either they were politely telling me I had put on a little extra weight this holiday season- OR, they were referring to me as the BIG GUY!?!

How could that be?

No one could be Santa. He has the most amazing job in the universe. He has huge shoes (and pants) to fill. He is magical. He is joy. He is love.

And then it hit me. And I almost had to pull over. In fact, it is hitting me again right now (as I tear up through writing this post).

• I love my life.
• I love my job.
• I am joy.
• I am magic.
• I am love.

I have had the most amazing year. And I owe it all (mostly?) to my nursing career.

Be the Nurse You Want to Be

Every day I drive by Subway on my way to work. The restaurant, not the train. Well, I always get this ‘eat fresh’ slogan in my head. And then I thought about ‘Nursing from Within‘ and wondered- do I have a slogan? Could I use a catchy phrase?

I (so far, since every nurse entrepreneur knows this is an ever-evolving process) came up with: Be the Nurse You Want to Be.

That is what Nursing from Within™ is all about. Not just changing nursing careers. Not just getting a new job. Not just becoming a nurse entrepreneur. Not just being a healthy nurse. Not just taking care of yourself. Not just enjoying career resilience. It’s actually ALL of the above! All of it.

And since this year, I got to live my life that way- be the nurse I wanted to be in every sense of the word- I got to experience the best nursing career of my life.

I am Santa!

Enjoy Your Nursing Career

And you can be too. We all can be. When we live as the best nurse expression of ourselves- our authentic and true selves- we can enjoy every moment of our nursing careers. We can all love our lives, our jobs, and ourselves. So how do we do this?

[Tweet “Here are 3 ways to experience more joy in your nursing career.”]

• Start with the inner work. I didn’t get here overnight. Trust me. And I’m still ‘working’ on it every day. We’ve got to do the inner work to shift the outer experience. If you want to enjoy your nursing career, it truly starts with you first. Some ideas? Here’s a whole list of things I do (as close to daily) as possible, that have helped me thrive in my nursing career: journaling, meditation, visualization, intentional affirmations, Reiki, gratitudes, reflective reading, mirror work… the list goes on and on. Do something for yourself this upcoming year. Start with you. When you do, amazing career shifts will follow. I promise.
• Feel positive emotions inside the body. This one was hard for me. I am more of a cerebral type of gal. But building upon the first bullet point, when you do something like a gratitude practice for example, don’t just say the words. Say the words and then feel the feelings inside of the body. The feeling is what is remembered. The feeling is what becomes a driving force that moves us forward. One of my coaches along the way, encouraged me to feel. I didn’t really ‘get’ it- but I do understand a smile. So I decided to try it my way- move the smile throughout my entire body. And oh the joy that came with it! Find your feeling and allow it to flow.
• Live in the here-and-now. It can be temping to look ahead and think to yourself, ‘I’ll never get there in my nursing career.’ Or the opposite- look back and wallow on what you missed out on as a nurse professional. We are each unique beings with our own path in life. This includes our nursing careers. No two nurses will be the exact same nurse. Quit comparing yourself to others and take pride in where you are at- right now!

Alright- you’re turn. What did I miss? Add one thing below in the comments section. How would you suggest we experience more joy in our nursing careers? Thanks for reading and enjoy the day!