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Let’s not talk about how easily I’ve become forgetful when it comes to remembering someone’s name, the day of the week, the title to a television show, or for that matter, what I did five minutes ago. There are times I even freak myself out and start fretting over the possibility that I’m developing early dementia and in a few days I’m going to need placement in the memory care unit at the local nursing home.
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Yet, I know what I’m talking about is not as dramatic as I’m letting myself believe. As I think about it, I know there’s a bunch of logical explanations to what I’m feeling. Even though I try to not don’t sweat the small stuff, I know the more I look at the immensity of the world the less I truly know about it. And while I might not be able to find my way through a computer screen or work my way through my smartphone, I do know that I’m pretty good at dealing with real life situations.
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I think the danger with anything we frequently do is falling into the trap of complacency. We turn on our “auto-pilot” when we do something over and over and this in turn creates a sense of boredom and frustration which can easily lead us down the hole of negativity.
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One way to combat this is to learn or be challenged with a new skill. Such a thing happened to me this past week as I started to learn how to place IVs using ultrasound.
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Let me start by saying that I’ve been placing IVs into patient’s arms for years. The process of finding a vein, poking it with a needle, threading the catheter and capping it is nothing new. It’s a skill, and like anything we do, the more you practice the more proficient you become.
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And while I’ve been excited to learn how to perform IV placement with an ultrasound machine, it’s just as frustrating trying to be proficient at this new skill. If there was one thing that could make me feel like a brand new nurse, then learning this technique is more than sufficient. Like I said, it takes time to become skilled at a procedure and at the moment I’m kind of discovering that feeling of being at the bottom.
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I realize that in time, I’ll get better and that sensation of being all thumbs will become a distant memory. Yet, isn’t a lot of what we do in life sort of like this? It’s easy to be snared into contentment and before you know it the weeks have turned into months and those eventually morph into years.
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Most of us can agree that change is difficult or scary and many of us do our best to avoid it. I would like to believe that it doesn’t need to be like this, yet I can say that at times I resist change too.
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If you’re feeling a sense of boredom or that mental fog of discontentment, then maybe it’s time to try something different or learn a new skill. I realize that it could cause a tinge of discomfort, however in the long run it will give you a new outlook on your job or your life. Maybe it doesn’t have to be something for yourself, but rather something small for your spouse, significant other, family, friends or your community. Whatever you decide to do, doing something positive will bring you a sense of accomplishment, give you a boost in your mental outlook and spread that energy out into the world.
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I still believe that the majority of us want to be in this together, let’s not be too close together while we’re all in it.