ONE Thing to Remember About Your Vacation

Beach chairs on beach

The 20 ICU nurses and managers chosen to be in my Well-Being Coaching Pilot are bright, high-achieving, and committed to their profession. They are also self-aware and can articulate what they want to improve in their lives, but don’t always know quite how to do it. Self-Leadership coaching is central to the program and provides…

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Are You Overfunctioning? ONE Thing to Help

Nurse with mask on

After coaching many nurses and leaders over the last year, I have noticed a common theme. When nurses are feeling overwhelmed or out of control, we tend to overfunction. Our inherent role as caregivers and problem solvers make this an obvious way to manage our stress, but it is not a sustainable one. Overfunctioning is…

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Finding Joy in Recovery

relaxing with coffee and magazine

After an intense week of speaking on cultivating resilience with joy in your life, I am embarrassed to admit I did not heed my own advice. Recovery is the foundation of joy and I know after a big trip I need time and space, but I allowed my type-A tendency to get the best of me. I…

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Breaking Busy: 5 Myths to Let Go!

Breaking Busy 5 Myths

Sunday is my favorite day of the week because it’s the only day I don’t have to be somewhere, and, I often schedule my proclaimed “free” day with lots of activity. When a recent full Sunday was canceled due to weather, my inclination was to fill it back up with other things, until I remembered…

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5 Reasons to Stop Shoulding

I still viscerally feel my heartbreak the day I placed my Mom in a nursing home after her one too many falls with Parkinson’s. I chose to research, visit, and relocate her so she would be taken care of in a safe environment. I chose to call her every day for almost 3 years because…

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Are You FUN or Miserable?

Hiking Are You FUN or miserable?

We spent 3 fabulous days in the mountains hiking, seeing a play, and eating fabulous food, all with great friends. It was a great opportunity to exhale after a busy travel schedule but it turned out to be not quite enough… On the drive home, I felt myself bristle with our return to traffic, heat,…

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The Gifts of Patience

Gifts of Patience

Why are we all in such a rush?  That is the question I asked in my first book, Stop Living Life Like an Emergency! and I’m still asking it. We are so busy, expectant, and impatient, demonstrated by how we react to a slow computer, delayed flight, or transition that takes longer than we expect.…

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Reframe for Easy

Reframing in The Big Easy

Last month I was honored to speak at the AORN Global Surgical Conference in New Orleans, also known as The Big Easy. There are a number of theories about where this nickname came from, but one of the more popular references is how easy it was (and still is) for musicians to land gigs in…

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5 Ways to Improve Your Wellbeing

As many of you already know, resilience is not just the ability to bounce back in adversity, but an overall sense of wellbeing. It defines how we show up everyday, in the storms as well as the puppies and rainbows of life. This is great news. Although we can’t control the storms, we can take…

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What are you tolerating?

What are you tolerating vision board

I started my new year off by teaching a class on vision boards, and I created my own first. I intentionally left a lot of space because when I cram too many things into my life, it is difficult for me to stay in the moment and truly enjoy it. Creating space includes assessing your…

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