My Husband "Subvet" says that when our first son "Sonshine" was born the sun rose on our world, when our second son "Gator" was born the sun laughed and when our daughter "Sugars" was born all the flowers bloomed. That says it all.

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...
It's about learning how to dance in the rain."
Anonymous

Your mind is the garden, your
thoughts are the seeds, the harvest can either be flowers or weeds. — William
Wordsworth

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Simplicity of Gratitude

I love love my new job! I really do.

Flip side of that coin is that I really don't care for my hospital job. I've dreaded work nights for over a year now.

So, what's the difference?

There are a lot of little differences, like being home and talking on the phone vs being at the hospital and cleaning up poop. But I really don't mind being at the hospital or cleaning up poop. There's the whole "work in your pajamas" thing....but honestly; I wear SCRUBS and tennis shoes to work so how much difference is there??

I realized one night last week that the real difference in the jobs is simple gratitude.
When I am doing phone triage the vast majority of callers (like 98%) are honestly grateful for my time and advice. And they TELL ME SO.

The simple thing of hearing "okay. Thank you, I appreciate your call." makes a huge difference!

Especially when it is contrasted with the "When can I have more medicine and what took you so long?" that is repeated 98% of the time at the hospital. Sometimes a family member or a patient does show gratitude, but it's rare. Every once in awhile someone will send food, but honestly, I've known several nurses who won't eat food given by family members, we live in a scary world.

It's amazing to me to experience the real difference that being appreciated on a regular basis can make.

So, I hope you'll join me in making a point to say thank you more often. Even when someone tells you something you don't want to hear.

Thank you for your comments, I really DO appreciate them!

4 comments:

A Bit of the Blarney said...

So glad for you! One of my patients asked me the other day when I was going to retire. I told him not until I'm 70. He said why? I said because I like my job and don't know what else I would do. He told me he was glad and it certainly made my day! So, be HAPPY in your job!!! Cathy

OH! Don't forget tomorrow is Adventure Tour Express! :)

Sara said...

Oh, I thought you were going to say YOUR gratitude was missing! I can see why you feel that way---no one likes a thankless job, still less a job where you're criticized all the time.

Haha, I had a question recently and I told my son I was just going to call you!

ellen b. said...

Thank you for the reminder! :0)

Linda said...

You are so right, a little thank you goes a long ways.

And you're welcome!