I recently attended religious services in a town I was visiting. Upon entering the facility I was handed a pamphlet that had the program in it and upcoming events. On the back was a lovely welcoming message that went, “To all who are lonely and need friendship; to all who are discouraged and need good news;” etc. Typical “church” fare. But as I read on I was initially taken aback by the phrase”…to all who are complacent and need disturbing…” But after a second I smiled broadly at the concept. So many of us are in a rut in our lives and careers. We become so complacent that we stop learning, stop growing, stop moving forward, stop living. We don’t bother to challenge ourselves; we let fear and boredom rule our lives; and we lose our zest for living and working. The message was so powerful.
We all need a little disturbing from time to time – whether it involves trying something new, stepping out of our comfort zone, doing things differently than we’ve always done them, learning something new, making changes for the better, shifting our priorities or our focus, or just doing something we’ve always wanted to do
This applies to the nursing profession as well. So many of us believe that we are powerless in this profession to make changes, to be heard, to have a positive impact. We don’t get involved in committees at work; we don’t join or get active in our professional associations; we don’t stand up for ourselves or our profession; we witness, are the recipient of, or dole out verbal abuse and just accept it as the norm. We stop trying to make things better or never even bother in the first place. There is a Chinese proverb that says, “When sleeping women wake, mountains move.” I challenge you today to awaken from the slumber of complacency, apathy, negativity, and inactivity. You do have the power to effect positive change – Nurse Power! Make it work for you and for all of us.
