Strength To Lend A Hand

When you believe in yourself you believe that you can do anything, be anything, creating a future for yourself that you can see, whatever that happens to be, so how do you spend your time?

I like the idea of being ready for anything, I’ve thought this way for as long as I remember. It means I’m often thinking ahead of time. In today’s parlance you might say I have a low time preference and I know many over the years have described me as patient.

Over the course of time I’ve been drawn to and have tried many different sporting activities imagining they would turn out in a particular way but as I have pursued those activities at some point I’ve come to realise I reach a particular stage where I gain no more benefit and I step off in a different direction. Gaining insight and learning along the way. It’s not always easy to let go of an activity that you’ve invested time in and enjoyed on many levels but at some point I have found myself questioning the time spent and the reward for myself, after all, with every pursuit there is always opportunity costs to consider. Does the activity continue to serve the reason that brought me to it or am I now in search of something else I had yet to find?

In recent years this way of thinking and interest in sport led to a more specific interest around the idea of physical fitness and success and what this means in sport and life. Not only for myself but for others. This has led me down a path of more specific education and physical activity which then led to a business establishing time and space for others, who are otherwise pressed for time, to formally exercise in a thoughtful and encouraging environment with innovative tools. As if these business ideas were the answer to the question.

What does it mean to be physically fit if it is not physical intelligence? Is it what we have been led to believe? What is it that interferes with this quest?

I increasingly doubt that the answer to these questions are what most believe as I observe around me an unprecedented proportion of the population, despite the best of intentions and effort, doing as has been suggested but not fulfilling the promise to gain physical intelligence to be ready to be the person they wish to see.

The truth I’ve discovered is that it starts with belief within oneself and who you see.

Sounds simple, but in a world of abundant information that has changed form and frequency increasingly over time, it often requires some reflection on the part of the individual and perhaps a supportive ear to listen and to question. Who do you wish to be and do your beliefs and habits that you have accrued over time serve you? Physical intelligence is a capacity after all, a force, what you are capable of, it cannot necessarily be quantified only described by the individual, from their perspective.

I have a friend whose profession is nursing which she describes as a calling.

Whilst nursing is a calling the nurse, like anyone else, is an individual who was once young, is part of a family and has a family of her own now, is part of a community and is susceptible to the same human challenges as anyone else. The nurse has had her own challenges to contend with during the course of her life. In this sense the nurse may well need a hand lent to her just as she lends a hand to another. A different perspective, meeting her where she needs to be met, to support her to make the changes she needs to make within herself. To enable her to generate the capacity for her to do the work she needs to do to fulfil her calling. A calling, with her vast experience, requires her to express and demonstrate confidence about the future she wishes to see in her chosen field.

It’s time for the nurse to put on her oxygen mask first to face her challenges.

Thought and Action determine Outcome.

To begin with I wasn’t sure I had enough to offer the nurse who needs to be stronger. From a formal exercise perspective I do have an innovative workout system that allows variable resistance in strength training. A tool I had proven to myself bought superior results compared to other systems, it aligns with the biomechanics of the body, that is to say it works with you and not against you, but the nurse could easily buy this for herself as I have done. I’ve come to realise over time, however, the tool is only part of the equation. Change starts with belief and it requires questioning of existing beliefs and habits.

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I believe the nurse can be stronger, a position she did not hold herself, trapped in her current conditioning, and belief about her personal trajectory. Our connection, her trust in my experience, the encouragement and support, the conversation that would arise to unearth barriers to change her perspective have revealed a new path. This is the beginning of a new chapter. These new thoughts and actions will need to be practised, iterated upon, to create enough change for her to realise and feel that a stronger future is possible. Would she feel better than she did before and is she more capable? This will take work and it will take time.

It doesn’t matter who you are, what your profession has been, what you may desire for the future, it starts and ends with yourself, it’s up to you the individual, you must do the work and are the proof.

Make a start.

It’s the first step that is required, can you repeat this step then create another over time, to create a little momentum, to feel better, move forward. In the case of the nurse, minimise any barriers, simply turn up with no fanfare, lets focus on the connection and conversation and see where it goes. No obligation, a promise to give the connection a little time, to ensure success, before creating the next step. It turns out the conversations have been as powerful for the mind as the tool for the body. In fact we spend more time with the conversations. Uncovering protective mechanisms, behaviours, no longer required, for what comes next. Minimal time with the tool, it is incredibly powerful after all, maximal force, 4-6 movements per session and each movement once to failure. The physiological response to the strength training coupled with the conversations generate ideas that allow a shift in behaviour beyond our conversations that mean activities of daily life feel better?

A realignment, away from the past, into the present and toward the future. Less reliance on ideas collected and embodied from the past that no longer serve future aspirations. More reliance on ideas generating new actions and routines to create new behaviours for a renewed strength and direction with new hope.

The default position for the nurse, as it is with many, may be to put the needs of others before her own but it may be necessary to put her own needs first before she is positioned to help others. Fortunately it’s simple! Create some time for change. Innovative tools can be powerful. Support from those who believe in her mission, wanting nothing but her best, can amplify. Understanding why she wishes to change, a vision of the future, perhaps most powerful.

As I write these words it’s interesting to consider why the nurse who needs to be stronger has not turned to the the health care system for an answer? Evidently it is not a problem the system is designed to solve, it’s possibly why the nurse and I have connected.

In recent years the professional role of the nurse has shifted increasingly away from direct care of patients and toward administration. These changing times, technology and centralising systems, are creating gaps, fulfilled by others with specific disconnected roles, serving the system. The nurse with her original beliefs and guiding principles about her role are ostracised in this paradigm.

The Nurse who needs to be stronger, sees this widening gap, is returning to the origins of her profession. This is what she is called to do. But she needs the strength within herself, a greater capacity, before she can lend a hand to another in the moments that matter most to the individual being cared for.

The nurse needs to exhibit a calm confidence in all manner of situations. Steady on her feet to reach and extend a hand when required. She must have the capacity to be where she is needed. To have created the time and space beyond herself. This requires energy and certainty within herself first. Once the hand is extended then what? That action may not be enough. She’s met the person in need where they are but they don’t have it in them to make the next move. That could well be up to her. She must look beyond and prepare, to have the capacity to support the next move to a new position. That requires foresight. It may require additional time and resources to prepare to be there when needed. It could be unexpected.

Whether it is for oneself or another we need time and we need energy not just to be strong but stronger, more capable if we are to be the person we wish to see. It does start with oneself, it may require reflection and there is no doubt that a conversation can uncover what you may have become blind to as you embody habits over time. Take the first step, keep it simple, you’ll know if you are going in the right direction, it’s from your perspective after all. Who do you wish to see?

I see the nurse who gets stronger but it will take work and it will take time for the nurse to believe and to prove this to herself.