Creating Positive Results (CPR)

by
Georgia W. Barkers, BSN, MBA, MHA
(Reprinted from Nurse-Zine)

"Work as if you don't need the money; Love as if you have never been hurt; and Dance as if no one is watching."   Anonymous

Many people have heard me say, "My mother is a nurse, my grandmother is a missionary and I am a nurse on a mission."  With so much "high tech", I believe there is an even greater need for "high touch", especially for healthcare professionals.  We give so much.  But, sometimes forget that we must also be open to receive.  The above quote was sent to me and touched something deep inside.  It is a message I believe should be shared and  is a sound foundation for the CPR (Creating Positive Results)I love to teach.

When we work as if we don't need the money, a love for what we're doing becomes the driving force and allows that inner creativity to be released.  The truth of  these words may touch your heart but are often no  competition  for the "reality shock" known as debt or bills to be paid.  Remember, it is all in your attitude.  You can give any meaning you like to "your reality".  This is your story!  You write the script and you have the freedom to determine its meaning.  The work you are paid to do can be as rewarding and joyous as that which you do for free, if you have selected it based on your desire to share your personal gifts and talents.  You will find immeasurable freedom and satisfaction in your job when you give yourself permission to love the part of you that is expressed in the work you do.  "Work as if you don't need the money."

The memory of past hurts may prevent you from enjoying the present and sharing your light (gifts, talents and love) with others.  This, to me, hurts everyone but especially the person who must keep everything inside.  Love was meant to be shared.  If love isn't shared, what good does it provide? You came to a helping profession to give of yourself, let go of the hurts that changed the person you see in the mirror. "Agape" is the Greek word for divine love; altruistic love; God's love for mankind. You will like what you do and who you are so much more when "agape" flows freely in your life and from you to others.  "Love as if you have never been hurt."

Freedom comes when we think no one is watching.  Some of our greatest  songs are sung in the shower and will never be heard unless we are secretly taped.  Some of our best writing in kept in the secrecy of our personal journals, for other eyes only after our deaths.  Some of our most passionate speeches never leave the recesses of our minds.only we know how beautifully our cause could have been championed.  To expand your life, give freely and forget yourself.  "Dance as if no one is watching."

Study, practice, and teach CPR everyday.