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.