Being an "ER Doctor" of life

Trust your own instincts. your mistakes might as well be you own, instead of someone else's. ~ B. Wilder

Confession time - I always wanted to be a doctor. It's a "shoulda, coulda, woulda had I known then what I know now" deal for me. But we all have a few of those. :)  It occurred to me recently that if you are a parent, manager, coach, ... we all could learn a few life lessons from how ER doctors approach their patients.

1. The most serious problem jumps to the front of the line. Working as a lifeguard and first-aid responder I know a fair bit about triage and that after evaluating the situation you address the most serious calamity first. This applies to life as well. Once you have dealt with a few "biggies" - major illness, death, child in jeopardy, you learn quickly not to sweat the small stuff. That is not to say the small stuff shouldn't be addressed, more so that it is okay to let it slide every once in a while.

2. Have a system. Doctors have a process for determining and ruling out ailments that they use over, and over, and over again. Whatever it is you need done, having a checklist/systematic process/program/... to follow will helping getting it done. A system breaks down the big jobs into not-so-big jobs and makes them easier to complete and not so daunting.

3. Don't assume what the outcome will be. ER doctors have a bevy of tools. For any given case they may prescribe drugs, do stitches, offer surgery, or do more tests. Same goes for being a mom, coach, consultant - remembering that there is more than one way to skin a cat (sorry to all you cat lovers) will help in coming up with out of the box solutions instead of doing things the same old way. CHANGE IS GOOD!
4. Be patient in the face of stupidity.  Don't judge; just fix/do. 'Nuf said.

5. A good night's sleep can shine clarity on almost everything. "Wait and see" can sometimes be the right approach. Not every "emergency" needs immediate action. So whether it is 10 minutes, a good night sleep or a couple days to reflect, make sure to take time you need to be able to see the problem/issue/catastrophe with clarity rather than through the shades of emotion that may surround the situation.

 Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal. ~P. Starr

So lots of things swirling around my head on my birthday. Things that I would have figured I would have figured out by now! Guess I was wrong.

More and more I am seeing and hearing my peers at a crux in their lives. Whether it be about careers (as in my case), relationships (so not the case for me - never been more sure about anything in my life), who they are (I am doing alright in this category too - I think) or where they are going (anyone who knows me will tell you I have an excellent sense of direction :), we 40-somethings seem to be in a bit of a crisis. Not sure if it a mid-life crisis, or it if it is suddenly hitting us all that we are adults. No way around it, not an arguement in sight to prove otherwise, and perhaps that is what is sending us all into this state of flux.

Speaking to those a generation or two ahead of me, they don't recall their peers going through as much turmoil about everything. Sure, there was the proverbial mid-life crisis where people, ok, men, went out and bought sports cars, motor cycles, etc ... but it was more the exception than the rule. I am not sure that is the case today, and I think women and men are experiencing this "what am I going to do with the rest of my life" syndrome.

Maybe it is because the world is so much smaller (not literally of course) than it use to be. We can connect with virtually anyone, anywhere, at any time via so many different channels. We know what is happening around the world at any given moment, as it is happening. We wait and want for nothing when it comes to information, and most product. Is that making us more 'itchy' for something new and different in our immediate lives on a regular basis. Perhaps my generation is caught with having lived in a world without the world wide web and CNN/TSN and social networking, and not wanting to miss out on anything again is antsy to be a part of more things than we are capable of in case it all slips back to the way things were before Google ruled the world. Is wanting it all - happy home life, satisfaction/engagement at work, active social life, ... a bad thing?

As for me, as Ms. Starr said, I am going to try to reach high, and dream deep this year and see where it gets me.

I'll let you know. : )

Perspective is an amazing thing.

 People who look through keyholes are apt to get the idea that most things are keyhole shaped. ~Author Unknown

It never ceases to amaze me (not to self: pay more attention) how by taking a step back and looking as something/one from a different angle, in a different light, or with a different mindset, just how different that thing or person can appear. And how important it is to do this on a regular basis.

They haven't changed. The environment has not changed. It is our change in perspective that gives us new insights and allows us to see the object/person in broader terms and with more depth.

Sometimes that person we see with more clarity is ourselves.

I recently completed The Gabriel Institute's TGI Role-Based Assessment. This is a test, in the same gendre as the Kolbe, Myers-Briggs, and Strength-Finder, but more focused on the role one plays within a work enviroment. I admit, I usually love taking these kinds of things, but this one I found challenging. Based on role-playing, the test takes you through ten "movie scenes" where you are given the overall scenario and then have to pick from ten character roles and identify which: you think you most resemble, you think you least resemble, your freinds would think you most resemble, and your friends think you least resemble. NEVER having aspired to do any type of acting and as someone who cringes when role-playing is part of training or team building this was not an easy task to complete. But I did finish it.

So I received the results the next day and when I read through the report I have to admit I wasn't overly jazzed about what I saw. Some of the analysis hit the nail on the head, and other pieces I felt were off the mark. (note to self: denial is not just a river in Africa) One really useful thing the report did was give me an outside-in view of how perhaps others saw me. Some good, some, well, lets just say I am going to be more focused on a few areas for the next little while. Because while I may not see myself that way, peception is reality, and if I can give others a different, perhaps more positive perspective to view who I am and what I do, then it will be worth it.