Principles 2-5

To continue on the Principles I’ve gleaned from “9 Things you simply MUST DO” By Dr. Henry Cloud

2.  Pull the Tooth: I hate/love this one. I tend to hesitate, refuse to commit or make decisions… I waste time and energy worrying. Deja vu people do not allow negative energy to distract them. They don’t hang on to the bad stuff. Fix or finish the problem and move on. Stay focused on your heart’s desires and goals. We get stuck complaining, but that does nothing but distract us from what is good. So get to work, pull the tooth, fix the problem–complaining does nothing if it is not used as a motivator for change.

I’m skipping three cause I don’t remember it & so it obviously didn’t change my life…

4. Do Something: This goes along with Principle 2. Ask the question “What can I do to make this situation better?” Don’t be so bogged down by the blame game, how can I take action and make this better?

5. Act Like an Ant: Small steps to accomplish big tasks/projects. We don’t have to have it all together now, but we can be taking small manageable steps towards our goals.

You Simply MUST Do

For my class I had to read the book 9 Things You Simply Must Do to Succeed in Love and Life By Dr. Henry Cloud

These are a few of my thoughts and hopefully they will encourage you to take the time to read this fabulous book.

He starts out by defining Deja vu people as “People who found what they were looking for in life” and that these people had specific traits in common. None of these people had the same background, they were from all walks of life, upbringings varied, which encourages us that these things can be learned, we are not stuck. We can learn from these people and become successful.

He then proceeds to give us 9 Principles or word pictures based on the actions of successful people he has met and interacted with.

Since there are several of them that impacted me deeply, I will divide them up so you don’t have a novel to dig through, so to start:

Principle #1

Dig it up: Find your heart’s desire. Find that combination of interest and what lays deeply buried in your heart. So often we become distracted or lose that which makes us “come alive”–I firmly believe that God has given us all talents that must be used, and when we neglect them we lose the purpose for life. Find it, act on it, invest in it, hold on to it, fight for it. Do not ignore your heart, mind, and soul…Do not allow for it to be buried in the busyness of life.

Awesome quote “Those who take what they possess, invest it in life, and are diligent and faithful with it over time, grow and build something good. But those who allow fear to keep them from stepping out, not only fail to increase what they have, they actually lose it” 

I challenge you, search your heart, when you are feeling discontent and frustrated, seek those things you have buried away. We were created for a purpose and we must not neglect to use the talents and skills, passions that were given to us.

Plan or Flow?

I love planning. I have the philosophy that fun should planned to maximize the fun to be had, less time wasted on deciding because it’s already pre-planned, organized, and things just go smoothly.

I enjoy fun, I enjoy spontaneous plans (if given enough time to plan), and if they crowd out “non-fun” activities…all the better!

So when I make my plans for the month/week/day/hour and they get interrupted…I tend to be cranky, annoyed, and frustrated, and I begin to frantically to replan the time interrupted, how can I reshuffle, what can I get rid of, well there goes my nap time.

Those reactions all point towards a selfish, self-driven mind that demands control.

Not a pretty picture…

“I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”-Isaiah 48:17

So…I have to give my plans over to someone else? Yes He’s all-powerful, knowing, etc…but really then I’m not controlling my future. O what’s that? I don’t control my future? O…well…do I really have to trust that someone else knows what’s better for me? Hm…I don’t like that at all.

And I wish I had some magic formula to help…but I don’t. Make the right choices every day, lean on the Lord, ask for His strength to rely on Him, sounds confusing, but we don’t have the strength to trust Him.

So as I re-plan my day, Lord please direct me. Help me reach out to those who need me, encourage those who need a smile or compliment, listen to those who need to talk, spend my money on what you want, read, watch, and listen to that which glorifies you, Lord…I need you to help me plan my day and stay flexible as you lead.

::That Moment

::That dreadful moment, the terrifying, adrenaline rushing moment when your Patient goes unresponsive.

::That heart-dropping, stressful moment when you open your e-mail to a read of an error that occurred on your watch

::That awful moment when your brain is so foggy you don’t know what to do, you flounder as you search for the next step

All moments that leave lasting memories.

But we grow & learn from these moments. I’ve been told by many people that starting a new job is stressful. The first year as an RN is a year of learning. But being told something & experiencing it for yourself are two very different things.

The stress will continue but it cannot weigh you down. Confidence is gained from intense situations done right, but just as important, situations gone wrong can grow us, stretch us, and leave lasting impacts on our lives.

As I reach the end of my first year as an RN, I look back & see how far I have come. Situations I never thought I could handle I can. Things I used to balk at have become second nature. But there is much more to go. Lessons to be learned, tasks to be accomplished, knowledge to be gained, all come from experiences, both good & bad.

::That wonderful, confidence building moment when you catch a new heart rhythm

::That tearful, tender moment when  you really connect with a patient & are able to encourage them

::That awesome, inspiring moment when you realize…I am a Nurse.

Communicate Hope

Do you ever hear a phrase that just jumps out at you? A powerful combination of together that strung together express your vision or feeling.

Today just such a phrase jumped out at me.

::communicate hope::

am I daily communicating hope to those around me?

How does one communicate hope?

To understand this I think of love hopes all things from 1 Corinthians 13:7

hope:: does not allow the failure to be final

hope:: allows us to look forward, to get up & to move on

Hope is a powerful emotion, an outlook on life, a glimpse at a better tomorrow.

What are you hopeful for?

Why do you have hope?

Who are you communicating this valuable lesson to?

 

Hope Communicates 

Hope Communicates

Failure is not the end

Hope Communicates

Get up, Move on

Hope Communicates

There is a better future

 

The sorrows of life, they

drag us down

The storms, the trials,

all surround us

 

We Fall, We Fail

But we Rise up Again

 

Hope Communicates

Failure is Not the end

 

 

{Trust}

 

“Sarah, do you Trust Me?”

“Of course I do” I hurried to reassure Him

The blunt response came loud & clear,

{Then Live Like It}

OUCH

Do I live like I Trust? What does a life of Trust look like?

If I trust a chair do I only partially sit down? Nope, I plop right down & put my whole weight on it. If I am seeking advice from a trusted friend, do I only tell them half of the story? No, I confide in them all the details, trusting that they will give me the best advice.

Do I truly Trust God? Do I allow Him to lead me?

Do I spend my time worrying & fearing the future?

{Trust} 

Not an easy lesson to learn, not an easy lesson to practice.

Trust:: practice it daily

{Live Like It} 

From IDK to IK

{Pardon the text lingo}

As a student nurse I found myself often using the phrase, I don’t know. You’re being taught, people are always telling you why and how to fix the problem. Obviously this is expected (it’s what I was paying for right?) and it gradually transitions and the pieces start to fall into place, but I still use the phrase IDK frequently!

But now…I am a Real Nurse (RN for short), and the phrase IDK needs to be removed from my vocabulary. The problem is there, how do we solve it, what should I be looking at? I may not have all the answers, but I need to be transitioning into I Know where to look. Enough of the deer-in-headlights response, I am a nurse, I can solve this problem.

And it’s not just in nursing this applies. There are situations that arise and seeking advice is not wrong, but am I seeking advice or someone to pass the problem onto? I’ve gotta step up & deal with the problems on my own. I’ve experienced a full (*23*) years and have seen others go through things, so it’s time for me to start saying, IK what to do!

{IK} 

HappiNess

The secret to happiness is not in doing what one likes to do, but in liking what one has to do

Do you live life loving what you’re doing? Happiness is a choice!

I find myself focused on the things I hate, which then automatically brings me down.

What wonderful things do you get to be a part of? Whose lives are you influencing? What friends are you making?

Positive motivation goes further than negative.

Good feelings trump bad thoughts.

Being happy is a choice we have to make every day.

We’re only on the Earth for a short time. Don’t waste it wishing for happiness.

 

{Thankful}

 

Do I believe that there is always something to be thankful for?

Then why don’t I live like it?

I am thankful for

{my family}

{my friends} even though they are spread across the country

{my church}

{my job} even though it’s not a nursing job, I am still able to work

{my health}

[God’s Salvation]

[Grace]

[Hope]

There is a Plan

I was reading in Deuteronomy today {not the most inspirational couple of chapters} and the thought struck me, God had this wonderful plan, but His people disobeyed and messed it up. God had laid out His law, His plan for redemption, and Israel disregarded it.

And Moses, even after a long lifetime of serving the Lord & following Him, rebelled once out of frustration & was unable to reach the Promise Land of Israel.

In his last message to the people (ch 4) Moses just keeps reminding the people to obey the statutes of the Lord.

^{4: 9}  “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.

 

He also reminds Israel to have no false gods or idols. This is not something I think about often, but so many times I can see there are things in my life that I value more than God.

God’s Plan is for me to love Him, to be knowing Him better, and I mess it up. Through laziness, through busyness, through excuses, I do not take the time to know God and His Word, as He has planned.

{God had a Plan–I must follow it}