How many of you have seen a monkey trap?
It is a simple design consisting of a banana or other fruit placed in a container with an opening just wide enough for the monkey’s hand to fit into alone. However, his hand cannot be pulled out if holding his prize contained within the trap. If the monkey is too stubborn and unwilling to let go of what looks like a good thing when a threat approaches, it becomes his demise.
What does that have to do with healthcare?
My posts tend to revolve around adapting to change or embracing it in one way or another. I believe that it is the one of the greatest struggles we will encounter in our lives. It is the inner struggle to be willing to let go of our stubbornness towards changes and look at them through objective filters before resisting.
We take what we believe SHOULD happen and apply it. That includes our employment environment and how we react to it. When what happens does not fall within our preconceived notions of our “shoulds”, it can cause us to respond negatively. Having a negative outlook about it may actually kill us.
http://news.health.com/2015/06/26/can-negative-thinking-make-you-sick/
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/281734
That leads me to question who we are really hurting.
Being stubborn when asked to change in response to new rules and regulations only hurts the one who is stubborn. What we have received may not be as great as what was in the trap. However, is it not better to avoid the trap in the first place? If you are at the top of the ladder, then I am sure you can think of how many monkey traps you avoided on the way up while others took the bait.
Please do not get me wrong. I am not advocating for us to roll over and play dead. I am not advising us to not stand up for what we believe. I am asking that your stubbornness towards those who are currently adapting to be set aside and that energy be put to some good use in a productive manner.
How?
“Is this the hill I want to die on today?”
That question is one of my favorites. I like to ask it of myself more frequently than I care to admit. I know it is a bit extreme yet holds the truth well. We need to pick our battles. We need to be wise to not throw away our valuable time being negative and waste our positive efforts fighting against what we do not have the ability to change.
What do we fight against? What do we go along with despite our dislike of it? What do we trust and go along with wholeheartedly?
These are the questions we should be asking ourselves right now and then seeing where our answers fit within what we want as healthcare providers on the front lines.
Our votes next month will shape a large part of our future as consumers and as integral parts of the evolving healthcare continuum. I am asking you to fight on a hill that is meant for the battle. Capitol Hill.
Do not get caught in monkey traps along the way by fighting with your colleagues or management about who caused what “mess that we are dealing with now.” Use your voice by researching where the candidates stand on local, state and federal health care issues and then making your stance count via the polling stations.
Whatever the outcome of November, there will be changes. This is the time you can actually influence the future of our work environments. Do not allow yourself to get caught unprepared. Get ready to be proud that you used your unique perspective to make a change for those we care for.
This is a hill worth fighting on.
It is a simple design consisting of a banana or other fruit placed in a container with an opening just wide enough for the monkey’s hand to fit into alone. However, his hand cannot be pulled out if holding his prize contained within the trap. If the monkey is too stubborn and unwilling to let go of what looks like a good thing when a threat approaches, it becomes his demise.
What does that have to do with healthcare?
My posts tend to revolve around adapting to change or embracing it in one way or another. I believe that it is the one of the greatest struggles we will encounter in our lives. It is the inner struggle to be willing to let go of our stubbornness towards changes and look at them through objective filters before resisting.
We take what we believe SHOULD happen and apply it. That includes our employment environment and how we react to it. When what happens does not fall within our preconceived notions of our “shoulds”, it can cause us to respond negatively. Having a negative outlook about it may actually kill us.
http://news.health.com/2015/06/26/can-negative-thinking-make-you-sick/
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/281734
That leads me to question who we are really hurting.
Being stubborn when asked to change in response to new rules and regulations only hurts the one who is stubborn. What we have received may not be as great as what was in the trap. However, is it not better to avoid the trap in the first place? If you are at the top of the ladder, then I am sure you can think of how many monkey traps you avoided on the way up while others took the bait.
Please do not get me wrong. I am not advocating for us to roll over and play dead. I am not advising us to not stand up for what we believe. I am asking that your stubbornness towards those who are currently adapting to be set aside and that energy be put to some good use in a productive manner.
How?
“Is this the hill I want to die on today?”
That question is one of my favorites. I like to ask it of myself more frequently than I care to admit. I know it is a bit extreme yet holds the truth well. We need to pick our battles. We need to be wise to not throw away our valuable time being negative and waste our positive efforts fighting against what we do not have the ability to change.
What do we fight against? What do we go along with despite our dislike of it? What do we trust and go along with wholeheartedly?
These are the questions we should be asking ourselves right now and then seeing where our answers fit within what we want as healthcare providers on the front lines.
Our votes next month will shape a large part of our future as consumers and as integral parts of the evolving healthcare continuum. I am asking you to fight on a hill that is meant for the battle. Capitol Hill.
Do not get caught in monkey traps along the way by fighting with your colleagues or management about who caused what “mess that we are dealing with now.” Use your voice by researching where the candidates stand on local, state and federal health care issues and then making your stance count via the polling stations.
Whatever the outcome of November, there will be changes. This is the time you can actually influence the future of our work environments. Do not allow yourself to get caught unprepared. Get ready to be proud that you used your unique perspective to make a change for those we care for.
This is a hill worth fighting on.