Day 21

A few years ago, I attended a lecture given by a psychiatrist that centered around how we are the only one in control of our reactions and emotions. It was focused on healthcare professionals, but it was sound advice for anyone with a stressful job. She talked about how we couldn't necessarily control situations and happenings, but we CAN control how we react to them. WE are the only ones who truly contol our emotions. If you are angry, don't blame it on someone else ("they MADE me angry).- because in reality you are the only one who can make the decision to be angry, anxious, upset, or happy.

Another part of the session focused on how important it is to disconnect from work when you get home, and vice versa. This is SO true...and SO hard some days. I think certain lines of work are possibly harder to do this with than others, but everyone struggles with this now and then. I can remember getting a phone call at work that my step-son was getting transferred to Afghanastan, and another that my Grandpa had suddenly died. I still had to work just as focused and hard as before I had gotten that phone call. And I can think of countless times my family has said, "Mom- did you hear anything I just said?" because my mind was still on the patient I had cared for earlier that day or even the day before.

This psychiatrist had a simple suggestion to help: On the way to and from work every day, you should take that time to purposefully clear your mind of wherever you were and prepare it for wherever you are going. That may look differently for different people- you may need silence in the car to do this, or possibly something noisy like music.

So I turned to music. Specifically, I turned to Pink. That may suprise some people who know me, but her "Funhouse" CD was absolutely tuned in to where my life was at that point, and singing, "I'm still a rockstar" at the top of my lungs every day helped me clear my head and reset it for whatever was next to come.

But then I dicovered audiobooks. It was an accident, really. My intention was to go to the library and find an audiobook on critical care that I could listen to on the way to and from work. But, instead, I wound up picking up a Nora Robert book on audio.....and haven't listened to the radio or a music CD since.

Nora Roberts has written over 200 books. As I have mentioned before, I have issues, and one of my personal goals is to read all of her books- good thing I like them :). A lot of them are on audio, so this allows me to actually have two of her books going at one time- one in the car, and one on my nightstand! And having to focus on listening to a story line allows me to shift my brain away from wherever I am coming from, and therefore a fresh start when I exit the car.

Today's picture represents the importance of seperating work and home life. So turn up the music, sing your heart out, or get swept away by your favorite author, and allow yourself to "disconnect".