I’d like to share another excerpt from my book, ‘Your Next Shift‘. This next section has to do with being the best nurse you can be: YOU! Sometimes when we get into the profession of nursing there are so many people around us… we can start to lose sight of who we are and what really matters to us. If this sounds familiar to you at all… I encourage you to read with an open mind and enjoy your next shift…

Something I hear a lot as a nurse entrepreneur is this thing called the ‘bright shiny object syndrome’. What this means is that you go after every ‘new thing’ out there. You want to take every class; you sign up for every training; you attend every event. Well, what happens when we act like this? We lose our sense of self.

This chapter’s tip is simple. (What’s that? What’s simple isn’t always easy; I know.) This chapter I encourage you to be yourself. Being your authentic self is the number one way to success. In business and in life.

            It’s hard to keep up with everyone. It’s demoralizing to compare ourselves to the success of others. We put ourselves down when we try to do and become things that we are not. It’s exhausting.

Yes the saying, ‘fake it until you make it’ surely does apply in business. If you are just starting out and you haven’t worked with a single client yet, you may need to put on some confidence in order to get that first sale. But, do it your way.

Show up as yourself. People can tell when we are being an untrue representation of ourselves. Since everything is energy (including thoughts, feelings, words and actions) people pick up on that ‘vibe’ if you are being inauthentic.

This can ring true for those of us reading who are not yet, nor don’t desire to be, entrepreneurs. At your workplace, are you being you? I see this a lot in nursing and I wrote about it a bit in Chapter Three of ‘Nursing from Within’.

Sometimes, our greatest asset can also be our biggest downfall. Millions of people around the world are nurses. Representing each specialty in healthcare and showing up in every level of care, nurses are everywhere. While this large group can be an asset as it provides us with colleagues, networks and camaraderie; this group notion can trip us up if we aren’t careful.

We start to think like a nurse. Talk like a nurse. Act like a nurse. (Well, duh. We’re nurses.) What I am warning you of is losing your sense of self in the profession. Just because your co-worker went back to school does not mean you have to. Sure, your colleague got certified in that specialty, but do you really want to?

Make decisions based on your desires and dreams. Do what you want in nursing because it serves you. Follow your heart in your career. The greatest way to be the best nurse that you can be is to be yourself.

Again, sounds simple. Yet is it easy? Add on the fact that many of us have our family members and friends. Many nurses have children or they take care of adult parents. Many nurses are active in their faith, communities and government. Nurses can be siblings, children and friends. When we wear all of these ‘hats’ sometimes we lose who we are deep inside.

            One final aspect I’d like to touch on in this chapter relates to the work that we do and how to engage in a career that never has to feel like ‘work’ again. Sure, some of you out there reading may be thinking to yourself ‘Yeah right. We always have to ‘work’. How else will we pay the bills?’ What I am referring to is something deeper. Something that taps into this concept of being your true you.

Many of the great entrepreneurs out there do what they do because they love it, not because they have to. Seriously, people have made great fortunes and probably never have to work another day in their lives. Yet they continue to do so. Why is that?

They have done the introspection and self work. They have gotten really quiet and listened. They have figured out what makes them ‘tick’, so to speak. They have done one thing that all of us would love to do: turned their passions into their jobs.

When you take time to pause and go inside you can find out what it is that you truly enjoy. You can uncover your unique traits, skills and talents. Then, you bring these into the work that you do- really apply them in your j-o-b. Whether it is as an employee of an organization or not; it doesn’t matter. What is important here is that you are doing something of service that you really love to do.

If you’ve enjoyed this portion of the book, I invite you to get your copy of ‘Your Next Shift‘ today by clicking here.

About the Author: As a speaker, workshop facilitator, and Reiki Master, Elizabeth partners with hospitals, organizations, associations, and nursing groups to help transform the field of nursing from the inside out. As the host of the Your Next Shift Workshop, Elizabeth guides nurses and nursing students to a change in perspective, helping them make the inner shift needed to better maneuver the sometimes challenging realities of being a caregiver.