Mantra to Move through Difficult Situations

I copied this from a website. We have been singing this mantra in yoga class and I feel such a connection with it. Not everything I try practicing moves me but singing this moves my soul and makes me feel incredible. Considering I have had my own tough times lately I decided to share it. Take what moves you and find strength from it and let it help you move forward in your journey.

"Here is a magnificent mantra that has helped so many people, so many times let go of fear, attachment and pain while the situation seems to ease out magically, and the future becomes smoother!

It was written by Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Guru in his amazing poem, Jap Sahib!

It works best if you recite this over and over again--day and night, out loud or in your mind, especially when you are in the grips of some emotional or other kind of crisis. Don't let the difficulty take you over.  That takes some will power!  Instead hang on so very tightly to the mantra.  Make it drown out the insecurity, fear, sadness, etc. in your mind.  Then things within you change miraculously, but oh, so very naturally and softly"

Website:  http://www.soulanswer.com/gobinde.html

Watch this video and sing along. See how it makes you feel. It can't hurt. :)

Video:  Gobinday, Mukanday Mantra

Here is the translation: Gobinday, Mukanday Udaaray, Apaaray   Hariang, Kariang Nirnamay, Akamay

Sustainer, Liberator, Enlightener, Infinite   Destroyer, Creator, Nameless, Desireless.

Next Year An Exciting Year

"Fix your eyes forward on what you can do, not back on what you cannot change."

-  Tom Clancy

As sad and angry as I have been this week trying to cope with the fact that I just can't work full time anymore at my current job with my back. I am also very excited at the same time for the opportunities coming my way this next year.

After a month off of work I had made incredible progress with my back. Unfortunately when I tried to go back to working full time I found out which I expected my back wasn't ready.  I continued thinking if I just pushed through. Maybe tried a little harder I could keep going. I have no more sick time at work and have finally decided to use my head and play it smart. I don't want to be one of those people that comes home after work and has to take a bunch of pills and go to bed to cope with the pain from working an 8 hour shift. We need money to survive but money is not everything. I have adjusted my life for the amount of money I make I can for sure adjust it for less money.

Next year I will be in charge of a council at work and excited for all the upcoming changes and opportunities to help make things better for healthcare workers and patients. I have decided to go back to school starting next year I hope to be in the Bachelor of Nursing Program and the University of Washington in Tacoma. After that I have hopes to go on for my Masters in Nursing Leadership at PLU. I have wanted to go back to school and considering my condition it is a perfect opportunity. Of course in a couple years worked into these plans I will want to have a baby but that can come when I am a little healthier and can handle carrying one. It is sad that I have to postpone that quite a bit but I can't worry about things that are beyond my control.

Ever since changing my own life and finding my passion again in my career I have wanted to help other healthcare workers change their own lives. This is my chance. Just because I can't work out at this time and achieve doesn't mean I can't come up with another goal. Goals are what keep you moving forward.

What is your goal?

Day 5: Adventures in Healthcare Leadership

Wow! Today has been a day filled with tears, hope, courage and inspiration. Well and I guess I can say some pain from about 50-100 conference attendees at least. Yes somehow it seems like some bug swarmed through knocking all the healthcare employees to their bed. I had of course thought I was so fortunate to have not gotten it but spoke too soon because it just decided to wait until it was time to go to the airport. I guess part of that can be considered good because I got to see all the speakers but yet the plane is not a fun place to not feel well either. Really just miserable. 

But I can say the rest of the conference was incredible and definitely inspiring. 

First speaker was Kelley Poppaw who talked about A Moment of Clarity: A New Clinicians Perspective. Her story discussed her personal heartbreak and tradgey and how she found her inspiration from readings a book in graduate school called The Diving Bell and the butterfly by Jean Dominque Bauby. 

"Our circle of influence grows when we become a positively charged magnetic force within it."

           - Jayne Felgen

Key Points:

-  Reflective Writing can be a very helpful tool. 

-  If we stop sharing our stories we stop growing. 

-   Allow yourself to influence your own life. 

-  Speak from your heart.

-  Create your voice.

-  Inspiring people create energy.

-  We are leaders for ourself as we manage our own life.

-  Become articulate.

-  The greater we lead our own life the greater leader we will be. 

-  Huge change happens in simple ways.

"When your back is up against the wall the only choice you have is to take the next step in front of you."

They asked the question:

"What keeps it alive?"

In this moment I felt like I had something to say, a story to tell. I made myself stand up and speak to the crowd with my hands shaking and heart pounding I stated:

What keeps it alive for me is the journey. It's getting back up when you feel like you can't. It's about finding hope and courage. I preceded to say about 4 years ago I had a breakdown. I was ready to give up on my nursing career. But somehow found the courage inside of me to continue moving forward and am now able to take care of patients the way I never was before. 

This definitely took a lot for me to stand up and speak but I remind myself the more I step out of the box, the bigger my box will be. I have a desire to speak, to inspire and tell the story. I think it's the stories that keep us going and helps us to not feel alone. 

"Let me be the carrier of hope for those who have none of their own."

Another speaker was Lee Woodruff who spoke about Courage in the face of adversity: A family's journey of healing. She is the author of a book written about their family's journey after her husband got hit by a bomb in the war as a reporter. 

 Key Points:

-  It's much easier to be the person on the operating table then the one in the waiting room. 

-  You can't lose hope. 

-  The more you laugh the more you heal.

-  What you see is not necessarily what the outcome will become.

So I really wanted to finish this and sum things up but it is time to go back to my bed. This is a terrible bug in which I hope goes away very soon. Not feeling well at all. It was a long day traveling sick yesterday and time to rest. 

At the end of the day we become vulnerable.

Keep your hearts open and the light shining!

Day 4: Adventures in Healthcare Leadership

First of a I will start it off by saying how thankful I am for a few things. I am thankful for my back holding up during this trip. I am happy to say I hardly feel it at all and when I do it's very minor. I am also thankful for not catching the gi bug that has been going around this resort and conference attendees. I did decide to bring my sambucus elderberry syrup with me which at first I thought was the worst idea since it spilled all over my suitcase during the flight but has possibly been the best thing allowing me to give my immune system a little boost. I knew in the back of my head flying and large crowds and lead to getting sick. 

Our first speaker today was Daniel Pink who is the author of Drive and The Whole New Mind. It was on the surprising truth: The science behind what drives us.

He has been on TED talks:

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html

Recommended articles:

By Dan Ariely and Steffie Woolhandler Will Pay For Performance Backfire?

http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2012/10/11/will-pay-for-performance-backfire-insights-from-behavioral-economics/

By Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kremer

The Study Progress

The Power of Small Wins

http://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins/

Autonomy Audit Assessment

www.danielpink.com/audit

App and software:

(There is a free version and app download on your phone.)

https://idonethis.com/

Key points:

-  When you reward behavior you get more of it, when you punish you get less...Sometimes!

-  Rewards are great for simple short term tasks but not so great for complex and long term.

-  If something is unfair people become very demotivated.

-  Money is a motivator and matters a lot but in a slightly different way. 

-  Human beings don't engage by being managed or controlled. 

-  One way to help good people do good things is to get out of their way.

-  We focus more on how and we need to be focusing more on why.

Next big event of the day for me was... The Therapeutic Use if Humor in Health Care by Kathleen Lambert who is a very inspiring registered nurse and lawyer.

I did not get to see her while speech due to a meeting I had to go to but did get the opportunity to talk to her afterward. 

Key Points:

-  Worrying is like being in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere.

-  The Japenese word Karoshi means death from overwork.

-  Don't take yourself too seriously.

-  Sometimes you are the best source of humor. 

-  "Humor is the essence of humanity."

              -  Steve Allen

-  Gelotology- is the study of laughter.

Good authors in humor:

William Fry

Barbara Johnson

Erma Bombeck

Joke:

The Dayton Daily News published the winning entries in the Erma Bombeck Writing Competition. 1st place in the "Humor category" was by Leigh Anne Jasheway of Eugene, (she teaches at LCC)

"The First Time's Always the Worst"

The first mammogram is the worst. Especially when the machine catches fire.

That's what happened to me. The technician, Gail, positioned me exactly as she wanted me (think of a really complicated game of Twister - right hand on the blue, left shoulder on the yellow, right breast as far away as humanly possible from the rest of your body).

Then she clamped the machine down so tight, I think my breast actually turned inside out. I'm pretty sure Victoria's Secret doesn't have a bra for that.

Suddenly, there was a loud popping noise. I looked down at my right breast to make sure it hadn't exploded. Nope, it was still flat as a pancake and still attached to my body.

"Oh no!" Gail said loudly. These are, perhaps, the words you least want to hear from any health professional. Suddenly, she came flying past me, her lab coat whipping behind her, on her way out the door. She yelled over her shoulder, "The machine's on fire, I'm going to get help!"

OK, I was wrong, 'The machine's on fire,' are the worst words you can hear from a health professional. Especially if you're all alone and semi-permanently attached to A MACHINE and don't know if it's THE MACHINE in question.

I struggled for a few seconds trying to get free, but even Houdini couldn't have escaped. I decided to go to plan B: yelling at the top of my lung (the one that was still working).

I hadn't seen anything on fire, so my panic hadn't quite reached epic proportions. But then I started to smell smoke coming from behind the partition.

"This is ridiculous," I thought. I can't die like this. What would they put in my obituary? Cause of death: breast entrapment?
I may have inhaled some fumes because I started to hallucinate. An imaginary fireman rushed in with a firehose and a hatchet. "Howdy, ma'am," he said. "What's happened here?" he asked, averting his eyes. "My breasts were too hot for the machine," I quipped, as my imaginary fireman ran out of the room again. "This is gonna take the Jaws of Life!", he shouts......

In reality, Gail returned with a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. She gave me a big smile and released me from the machine. "Sorry! That's the first time that's ever happened. Why don't you take a few minutes to relax before we finish up?"

I think that's what she said. I was running across the parking lot in my backless paper gown at the time.

After I relax for a few years, I figure I might go back. But I am taking my own fire extinguisher.

The end.

So that gives you a few bits and pieces and great resources. Even though the conference coming to an end can be a sad time but I have had an incredible experience and ment some great and inspiring leaders. I have millions of ideas floating in my head in where I can go from here and how I can help. The future will be very exciting. 

At the end of the day I escaped all the sick people and went out for dinner with another attendee. 

Day 3: Adventures in Healthcare Leadership

Well I have to say each day I get a little more tired. I figured out today I was probably drinking too much coffee during the day which was keeping me up at night. Today I switched backed to my herbal teas and tried to drink more water. It helps for sure. They definitely feed us well but I can get back on my normal routine when I get home.

Overall I am having an amazing time. Of course going into a little brain overload and just working on getting excited about my future responsibilities vs. getting overwhelmed. 

The first speech today was Brene Brown. Author of Daring Greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, live, and lead. 

She was on TED talks: 

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html

She also had an interview with opera:
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Brene-Brown-Interviewed-by-Oprah-Daring-Greatly

She referenced a Theodore Roosevelt Quote:

The Man In The Arena:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Key Points:

-  You need to choose comfort or courage you can't have both.

-  Vulnerability is showing up when there are no guarantees. Being all in. 

-  We make up stories in our head. Find out what is really happening before you trust what you think is happening. 

- vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation.

-  If your not failing, your not trying. 

-   How often do you fill in the blank with these words?

Never__________enough

Good

Rich

Safe

Certain

Perfect

Extraordinary

Relevant

-  Vulnerability is uncertainty and risk.

-  You need share your stories with people who have earned the right to hear them.

-  It's about trusting others know the answers when you don't. 

-  Leadership is not having all the answers. 

-  Choose discomfort over resentment. 

-  The reason it's hard to say no to people is because we want to be liked. 

-  Ask yourself these questions:

Do I have enough data to freak out?

Will freaking out help?

-  You need to tell yourself, "I am enough" in order to practice vulnerability. 

-  If you don't go into giving feedback feeling vulnerable your not giving good feedback. 

She also changed one of my favorite quotes around. 

"What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"

Instead think of it as:

"What's worth doing even if you fail?"

She was excellent and real!!

Later on I was sitting next to a chief nursing officer and we introduced ourself. Starting with him and for some reason my insecurities came out when I introduced myself and I felt a little intimidated by their role. I preceded to introduce myself as "I am just a nurse." Ok so obviously I knew right after I said that that at this very motivational conference that was probably the wrong thing to say. Of course he told me to rephrase it. Lesson be learned. There are different types of leaders and even though part of my position being the co-chair of the clinical practice council and future chair for next year is my leadership position but do you have to have a leadership position to be a leader? Absolutely not. There are formal and informal leaders. When you talk about who you are and what you do say it with confidence. Be proud of who you are!

I did try a local beer at the end of the day which would make my husband proud. 

Day 2: Adventures in Healthcare Leadership

I guess all I can say to start today off is wow!! It has been a very full but amazing day with an overwhelming amount of inspiration and knowledge.

Ok so starting the day off with a continental breakfast which I guess only downfall of traveling is it kinda messes your body up and as far as eating goes you kinda just make the best choice with options available. Oh and I guess going to bed at 1am due to my body being very messed up with time is taking a toll also but no complaints here because this is for sure the most incredible experience and I feel so honored to have the opportunity. 

So getting down to business. The first speakers name was Roger Nierenberg, author of The Music Paradigm: Leading by Listening and the Power of Attunement. It was the most amazing experience of the day sitting in the middle of an orchestra listening to some incredible music learning how leadership can make or break the performance. I have a whole new respect for musicians for sure. Some key points of learning would be:

-  Your view and experience differs greatly on where your seat lies. 

-  Not everybody's job is as glamorous or rewarding.

-  The beauty is found and experienced when everybody comes together. 

-  In order to achieve unity everybody needs to be completely attuned and in the present moment. 

-  It's not about the authority and power you have it's how you use it.

-  The leaders job is to offer a vision of what could be. 

-  Your actions need to follow your vision.

If you are interested in hearing the song it can be downloaded on Roger's website.

http://mobile.dudamobile.com/site/musicparadigm?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmusicparadigm.com%2Fmusic-cleveland-oh%2F&dm_redirected=true#2840

What I have written doesn't even begin to  describe the experience. 

Next speaker was the Rebirth of a Caring  Culture: From Distrust and Disunity to Compassion and Joy by Kathleen Van Wagoner, author of Advancing Professional Nurse Practice. 

Key notes were:

-  Stories bring forth the attributes that are important in our life. 

- Whatever you do support the journey. 

-  Values are the driving force that guide our life. 

-  Relationships are the drivers to improvement including your relationship with yourself. 

-  The key to sustaining any new vision is change. 

The last one that really stood out was Whole Systems Healing: Implications for well-being Leadership by Mary Jo Kreitzer author of Integrative Nursing. 

Book recommendations ...

Gentle Actions by: F. David Peat

Solving Tough Problems by: Adam Kahane

Nature Principles by Richard Louv

Check out a very inspirational story by a man named Matthew Sanford who is a disabled yoga instructor.

http://www.mindbodysolutions.org/content/matthew-sanford

"Once you grab hold of possibilities,

There aren't any limits. 

All you have to do is believe."

-  Kevin Bjorklund

Another website with some great info and a well being health assessment is:

http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/

Key points:

-  Fluctuations are the source of creativity. 

- Leadership is a behavior not a position. 

-  Leadership is what happens when people step forward to make a difference in issues they care about. 

-  Self awareness generates possibilities. 

- Mindfulness is being in the moment, non-judgementally.

-  When you are not practicing mindfulness you become reactive. 

-  Diversity is creativity. 

-  Suspend certainty and embrace uncertainty. 

-  Be willing to let go of the belief that you are right. 

-  We can't do for others what we are not already doing for ourselves. 

-  Health is in your hands. 

-  Nature heals. 

So it's been an extremely long day and even though this post doesn't begin to give you the experience personally it has some great resources and statements to get you thinking and learning with me. 

After I got to go for a walk and experience Lake Erie. 

So exhausted I leave you for the day with a little inspiration to fill your heart and knowledge to guide your journey. Three more days to go and more updates to come. 

New adventures in Healthcare Leadership

So today I got the opportunity to fly out to my first conference in healthcare. I mean I have done some local continuing education and seminars but nothing away from home. Just all the opportunities that have come forth in my life are so exciting for me. Ever since changing my life and not just with weight loss but with a combination of physical and mental changes. I have been able to care for patients the way I never was before and I have had a tremendous passion to help other healthcare workers take better care of themselves and experience the kind of joy, happiness and success I have been able to experience. I was elected last year to be the next leader for a council at the hospital I work at. I have taken on more and more responsibilities and gaining more and more confidence and just finding the opportunities keep heading my way. There is something to be said for feeling good about yourself because others notice. 

Today was a long day of flying but got an unexpected ride in a limo from the airport to the resorts and have already gotten to talk to a bunch of other healthcare workers with a similar passion. I probably seem like a kid in the candy store with all my excitement and being new to leadership have a lot to learn but so ready to dive right in and start making positive changes. 

The conference I am at this week is a relationship based care conference and even though I don't know what it involves yet, I do know it sounds pretty self explanatory. Creating better relationships across the system. So not just between healthcare workers and patients but also between other healthcare workers. Creating a better and friendlier environment overall which in the long run creates happier people and less mistakes. 

This conference is the International Relationship Based Care Symposium. It is located in Huron, OH at the Sawmill Creek Resort. 

http://chcm.com/2013-rbc-symposium/

Tomorrow starts the learning. Check back soon 

for updates.  

We are in it together

I believe in reaching out to others around you. I remember in nursing school they asked everybody why they wanted to be a nurse. Of course almost everybody stated they wanted to help others and to the instructors that was not an acceptable answer since well I guess it was the only answer. I mean I understand they wanted everybody to step out of the box a little and come up with a unique answer that was more personal.

But when it comes to life. I feel like we all have times when we really need the support of others. Times when we really need a little help getting back up after we have fallen down. I know I do and I think I am pretty strong. I don't think it matters how strong we are because we as humans will always have a weak moment. Life is definitely not about being perfect. Life is about striving for perfection and getting as close as you can.

So remember, when people around you are angry, sad, confused or whatever. People who don't have a smile to offer you. Those are the ones that need your love and support the most. I know we usually get angry and defensive when someone else is like that to us. But to be honest you have no idea what is going on in their life.

So lets share the love, support others, and smile. Think about how you would want others to act toward you and be that for them.

Getting Back in the Game

"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."

-  Dale Carnegie

I Love My Job!! :)

This was my second attempt going back to work since hurting my back about 10 weeks ago and I am happy to say so far very successful. Obviously I am going to continue to have to be very careful and take very good care of myself to continue to make progress, but once again I have proven someone wrong that told me something couldn't be done. I have kind of also proven myself wrong since I did believe for a while that my life was going to be so horrible from here on out. Being that I am only 31 years old that sounded like a long life of misery. Of course that didn't last long and with lots of support around me I finally picked myself back up and decided to keep on pushing and finding hope. Belief that anything was possible. 

Now I know this is just another turning point in my life. Again I wouldn't take back any of my struggles and obstacles I have encountered. They have helped me grow. They have helped me find my path and purpose in life. I am so blessed to have come this far and experienced all the things I have. I have so many exciting things coming up that I know will change my life even more. Of course things will be different but that is what helps me continue my journey and to keep moving forward in my life. 

"Life is like riding a bike. To keep your balance, you must keep moving forward."

-  Albert Einstein

Being the patient

I have learned so much in my journey through this injury. Learned so much more about what our patients really need from us. A warm smile, a listening ear and hope. I have seen multiple doctors. My last orthopedic surgeon gave me my diagnosis and without even listening to my struggles said you will have this pain for the rest of your life, your athletic days have come to an end and there is absolutely nothing to do for you. As I cried in fear of what would become of me I asked for some sort of direction, I asked to be heard and supported in my journey to a different kind of life. Now finally seeing a pain management doctor that listened, sympathized and and gave me hope that there is something I can do to get back to my life and career took such a load off of me. It didn't all have to be this way but seeing how it shouldn't be made me think of the patients. I now more then ever understand what they need. And it's not creating a miracle. It's something much more simple. A holding hand, a kind heart, and just to be listened to and supported. This I will bring back with me, to help guide me in giving the best to each and every person I care for everyday. 

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Exploring the power of mantra

“The way to happiness: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Scatter sunshine, forget self, think of others.” 

-  Norman Vincent Peale

So I have tried using mantra in the past and sometimes it works for me and sometimes it doesn't. During the last couple months while recovering from a back injury and trying to find the strength inside to heal, manage pain and continuing moving forward anyway I can. Mantra has been very useful in helping me through this process. 

First lets take a step back. What does mantra mean? Well basically it is a repeated word or phrase. Now does this phrase have some sort of magical power? Well that completely depends on what you say, how you say it and how much you believe the words you are saying. 

Now when you state your mantra you are going to want to state it as an affirmation.  An affirmation is something declared to be true; a positive statement or judgement. So starting your mantra out as I am vs. I will means you are currently in this state of being vs. wishing you were. Now it doesn't matter at all if you are really not but stating it in a way that says you are, will give you a greater chance of really being and believing you are how you want to be. 

Ok so lets get down to the details. Your mantra will probably depend on what is going on in your life, your struggles, and the way you aspire to be. 

Start of by taking in a couple deep breaths. Nice and slow, relaxed. Then move on to stating "I am" while breathing in. Then stating your positive word while breathing out. Examples are strong, powerful, motivated, happy, healed, peaceful, healthy, loved, determined etc. it's a positive powerful word stated in the present tense. You can even choose a couple words. This morning for my mantra I used: 

I am strong

I am loved

I am healed

I used this to help me in my journey. Me telling myself I am strong helps give me the strength I need to conquer any challenge I am faced with. Me telling myself I am loved. Reminds me that I am supported and loved by myself and others around me. Then I am healed helps me develop a connection with myself and send healing thoughts and vibes through my body to help my body heal and recover. 

The one thing I do know is it can't hurt. It's hard to think negative thoughts when your mind is too busy stating something positive. 

Did you try it? How did it make you feel?