Want to know how other healthcare professionals empower a positive mindset and energized spirit? Glad you asked! Community is so essential in our profession, so I’d like to introduce you to other healthcare professionals in a recurring feature I call Clinicians Thriving. Here, you’ll discover advice, strategies, and lessons learned from other healthcare professionals that can help you on your journey.
Name: Max Nursing specialty: Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Practices in: California Years in nursing: Seven
What’s one wellness ritual you’ll never quit? Physical exercise and working out. It’s a funny thing for me to say because I dread going to the gym most days. It can even feel very much like the opposite of wellness to me. But during the height of the pandemic, when I was only allowed in my apartment or at the hospital for work, I quickly realized the significant impact exercise had on my mental health.
Name one food you could eat every single day. I could easily eat sushi every day for the rest of my life. Some weeks, I really try to make that my reality. If I’m being lazy or having a rough week of work, my go-to treat is ordering $30 worth of sushi for delivery.
How do you create calm in the chaos of everyday life? I always take time to reflect and enjoy the good. Every morning, I really appreciate the coffee that I love so much. Then, I really appreciate my second cup! I smile and say hello to people around me and outwardly project how I want to feel inward. We have so many little things that pass us by and create joy. Taking the extra second to acknowledge it and be thankful helps me maintain inner calm and happiness regardless of the chaos around me.
What’s the best career advice you were ever given? Some of the best career and life advice I received from a mentor is to say something and then let it go. Many times, at the beginning of my career, I felt the need to correct things I saw as “wrong.” I not only needed to tell my manager, co-worker, or medical director the issue but also make sure they corrected it. That weight was so heavy in my life that it became intrusive to my well-being at work. I’ve now learned that it’s important to say my thoughts and speak my opinion, and let it go once I do.
What’s one thing you would tell your younger self? It isn’t a bad thing to listen to your heart more than your head sometimes or even most times. I’ve made the biggest decisions in my life with my heart first. Even though some people find that crazy, it has time and time again gotten me exactly where I needed to be.
Want to share your story with the TAP community? We’d love to hear it! Email me at info@tapwellnesscoaching.com. To learn more about how TAP Wellness Coaching can help you thrive, visit www.tapwellnesscoaching.com.