This time of year the stores are all filled with bright blue helium balloons, black square caps and cakes of every shape and size. Yes, that’s right: it’s nursing graduation time!

I want to congratulate all of our newly graduated nurses and wish you the best of success in your nursing career. And in tribute to the nursing graduation, let’s share a nursing carol with the past, present and future of nursing.

I got an email from LinkedIn to share a post on #IfIWere22, what would I tell my newly graduated nursing self as I entered my nursing career? Well, in tribute to new nurses everywhere let’s revisit and learn from these stories of nursing success.

The Past

[Tweet “If I were 22, what would I wish I had known then that I enjoy now as a busy nurse?”]

Well first off, at 22 I was just entering the accelerated nursing program at the University of Delaware. I didn’t want to be a nurse, but that is another story in-and-of-itself (that you will learn more about in my upcoming book, stay tuned). So as a 22 year old, what do I wish I had known that I know now? It’s very simple:

Be myself and find comfort within my own skin.

Back then I was trying so hard to ‘fit’ in and please everyone else around me. And I would venture to say this is not too far off from how we operate in our nursing careers. We want to do the right thing; be a part of our unit team; receive praise for a job well done.

What I encourage you to reflect upon and try this next week is this: how can you be more of your unique self? What special talents, abilities or traits make you the best nurse that YOU are? Be yourself and being a nurse will be that much easier for you.

The Present

[Tweet “Very simple: our present thoughts and feelings create our future reality.”]

I speak, write and teach to this all of the time so this section of our blog today will be brief. If you want to create the nursing career of your dreams it all starts in the here-and-now. The more mindful you can be of your present moment and how you show up in it, the more you can create an enjoyable nursing future.

Here’s a quick video with one way to stay present in the nursing moment (even if you don’t like or want to practice mediation).

Get a handle on your thoughts and feelings using present moment awareness and your future nursing career will thank you.

The Future

[Tweet “What sort of nursing profession do you want to be a part of in your future as a nurse?”]

It’s really up to you. Each of us as individuals can find ourselves in a highly empowered driver seat of our nursing career. As one person you can help shift the entire profession.

I wrote to this the other day when I asked you what one word you would use to describe nursing? Be a part of the uplifting and energizing shift by creating positive vibrations around your career as a nurse.

There is all sorts of innovation going on in nursing. We find ourselves with a plethora of career alternatives in nursing. There are specialty certifications, advanced degrees and continuous research that advances our roles as nurse professionals. And with the age of technology, you just can’t go wrong.

As Susan shares in her testimonial on the Art of Nursing digital program: “This program is at the leading edge of what nursing education shall and will be in the future.”

So there you have it: the past, present and nursing future. How will you lift up your nursing career? What shifts will you make to impact lasting change? Where can you learn, grow or heal to enjoy your career as a nurse professional?

I would love to hear from you! Go ahead and leave a comment, question or reflection below. Happy Graduation to all of our new graduates and those receiving advanced degrees. Enjoy the journey. Thank you for reading.