I was telling someone recently how the word “quiet” is forbidden at the nurse’s station because it’s a jinx … say it and we’ll get busy. I also told them how if we are not busy I will go down and do a “quiet” dance and sing the word quiet over and over, much to the chagrin of the horrified nurses. After my jig, I will attempt to explain that quiet is bad and busy is good. I remember when I worked at restaurants, at the beginning of the shift we’d get worried that we were going to get slammed; but after busy nights we’d be in a great mood, our pockets full of tips and the knowledge of a hard day’s work. When I owned a restaurant, my goal was to be extremely busy so I could pay the bills. Same here … we need to be happy and excited when we are busy and serving people - because it’s what we are trained to do and busy pays the bills.
I’ve talked a lot over years of how perceive a situation portrays a lot in how we react towards it. If I go to the fitness center dreading my workout because I’m tired, I’m expecting a cold in three days, my hair is too long (I can make up any excuse); then my workout will be bad. If I go up expecting an awesome workout and I enjoy the music and the environment and I’m happy, my workout will rock. Same with work, same with home and pretty much everything. Attitude is key to a good outcome.
Known to most people is the clear fact that I hate, HATE, January and February - because I used to talk about it non-stop. It’s good for me to take “hate” out of my personal dictionary. Words matter to me. If I apply “hate” to something or angst to a situation because I anticipate that I will have to live/work/exist out of my comfort zone -- my take on this situation will be much different than if I have an open mind. In orientation we talk about having an attitude of gratitude, yep -- thank you to my higher power for being busy, for being happy, for all my gifts and especially for a sunny day without snow in January.
