Trust Yourself To Navigate Your Course Amidst Changing Priorities

Have you ever had a job that literally made you sick?  Or one that by the time Sunday rolls around, your mood takes a complete dump because you know in less than 24 hours you'll be back at the office?

Me too.

In case you don't have a friend who is gutsy enough to be honest with you, let me step right up to the plate and ask, "How's that workin out for ya?"

Now I got your attention...I'm certain you've already seen the signs of remaining in a negative environment in your health, your mood, and your energy levels.  

I get it.  Over the years, I had two jobs that I can honestly say were killing me.  Ironically enough, neither were associated with patients of very high acuity.  With both, I started developing body pains-especially in my hips.  I lost my appetite, and was "sleeping" in 2 hour restless increments at night.  It.  was.  awful.  I felt like hell; and boy...did I look like it, too!

Coming from a healthcare background, I completely felt like a hypocrite-telling my patients to live healthy lives, knowing that my health was COMPLETELY suffering while remaining in the wrong environments.

Here's what happened:  I shifted my priorities and placed my health at the forefront and quit.  That's right; I quit.  (Now mind you, I had 6 months cash reserve in the bank both times) Quitting is really NOT normal Nicki procedure, but I firmly believe when things like your health (insert your priority here) are severely suffering you have to look yourself in the mirror and ask, "How's this workin out for ya?"

For me, I knew it wasn't.  So, I quit.  And both times, there was nearly immediate improvement in my health.  I started sleeping again.  My appetite returned to normal.  The dark circles underneath my eyes disappeared.  My gray ruddy skin became brighter.  ALL of my body pains went away.  You don't have to be a rocket scientist to note that the proof is in the pudding.  

That's my story.  Let's talk about you.  

It takes courage to move onto a different track with shifting priorities-especially when it involves career change.

For many, this has a strong tie to finances and the standard of living which one has been accustomed to; and is a major fear factor which keeps people overwhelmed and paralyzed from taking action.

Still others have no problem "dialing down" to a lesser income level, but their lack of true relationships with those who would support a major change is absent.  For them, that lack of social support or fear of criticism from their current "people" shuts down their spark of adventure...and they feel "stuck."

We can go round and round and talk about why people do what they do.  All that stuff is good to know-at least it was for me; because it makes you feel like you're not alone.

BUT...(you knew that was coming! Lol) too much time spent on discussing reasons why you’re stuck KEEPS YOU STUCK!  Ya gotta take some action!  

You know where you're at, and you know where you want to go from here.  My job, as your Coach, is to help you step out of your "feels" and make clear decisions from a position of peace and power.

Here's What You Need To Know:  I come from a hard core Emergency Nursing  background.  Surely, you know we see a lot of bad stuff, and we want to help everyone.  You also know that ER's are very busy places, and we cannot take care of everyone at the same time.

Our priorities are to take care of the sickest and most critical people first. It's certainly not popular; but it's the right thing to do.  The problem is that every person who comes to the ER has a story, or a family, or really cute kids in footie pajamas and they pull at our heartstrings.  But guess what?  No matter what their story, or how cute those little faces are, we must remain objective and collect key pieces of information, because our priority is that the sickest and most critical patients go first.  

We have a methodology, called TRIAGE, which keeps our objectivity on pointe, and allows us to make very clear decisions when it comes to determining who is the sickest, and therefore the order in which patients are taken back to see the physician. 

Same thing for you when it comes to your priorities.  Yes, you have a story.  Yes, you may even have cute kids with footie pajamas.  But there's times when a shift in priorities-particularly you health-requires you to make a clear and objective decision on what you're going to do moving forward.

Trust yourself:  

• There's times when you need to be aggressive and cut off dead weight.  
• Other times, you need to sit tight for a season, and make some adjustments or bolster up other areas before making a switch.  

You know what's truly in your heart, and what your true priorities are; for your priorities are closely linked to your value system.  Here's what I can tell you:  leading with your value system may not always be popular, but it's usually right.  

Therefore, proper triage is essential; and doing hard stuff-such as starting anew, taking a pay cut for awhile (or forever!) may be just what the doctor ordered.

You know what you need.  Trust yourself to do it.