Positivity Power

A tornado hit Iowa hours before I arrived to visit my 93-year-old mama in her assisted living home last week. Fallen trees and electrical lines blocked impassable streets as I careened in my rental car to finally arrive and hug her. I was shocked to find the thirty-bed facility, operating only on generators, to be an oasis of calm amidst the disaster in my rural hometown. 

Lessons from LeAnn

Nurses and caregivers, many whom I later learned had lost their own homes and/or possessions the night before, calmly and cheerfully served Mom and others. Only when I inquired about their lives and families did they share their losses. I complimented the director, Bethany, on the peacefulness and positivity that reigned in spite of surrounding turmoil.

"This is what you speak about" she reminded me, (she'd read by book!) "Finding peace in our war zones." In our conversation I learned that she had taught all of her staff to bring peace, positivity and calm to the workplace. Then, knowing they cannot give what they do not have inside, she took it a step further. "I want this place to be one of peace and positivity and calm for my staff too, because some of them have war zones in their own lives."

How often we have heard (and I agree) that healthcare workers need to leave their pain, problems and personal storms at the door, for we cannot bring it to the place and people we serve. But how often do we hear that a director wants the workplace to be a place of calm and balance for the worker?

What if all facilities strived to help their staff find physical, mental and spiritual balance in the workplace? What if they all cared for their people like Bethany? I know what would happen...they would all give competent compassionate care to my mom and others, no matter the storms.

Sip du Jour 

A Healthy Quote:

"I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship."

Louisa May Alcott

Learn additional spirit-lifting activities and life-balancing tools in LeAnn's acclaimed book: Balancing Life in Your "War Zones".

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