How the people you surround yourself with influence you (Morgan)

    I first learned about this in church one Sunday. We had been working through the book of Acts and our Pastor always does such an amazing job of transferring the reading to an applicable lesson. The concept is that we become most like the 5 people closest to us so we should choose carefully. He asked us to think about our 5 go-to people and decide how those people influence our lives; do they make us “better” or “bitter”. As I probed these individuals in my life I got to thinking about how true it is that the people in your environment can make such a different in our outlooks and attitudes.

 For me this is especially true in my work place. At work I was often plagued with negativity and bitterness, some from my co-workers and some from my patients. I soon realized this was the area in my life where I needed work , that I was becoming bitter and the thoughts and opinions of others in the workplace were starting to make me vain as well. Having a bad day at work could filter into the rest of my night, weekend, dreading Monday, and then starting the viscous cycle over again. Who could sustain such misery when most of my week is spent here, not to mention the two hour drive I have each day to really dwell on things. I knew I needed a change, but how could I make it better?

The first positive change I can remember is when I started walking outside during my lunch. I have always exercised on lunch but most of the times with other co-workers and in our same office setting (cardiac rehab exercise room). By not removing myself from my work environment I often found myself still talking about patients and work with my co-workers, and that’s time I really needed to escape during the day. By removing myself from the environment it allowed me to truly escape work for a while, enjoy the fresh air, and start the second half of my day on a good note.  I also shared this message from church to a close co-worker/friend. Together we committed to start talking more positively and to let the gossiping, rumors, and bitterness in the workplace stop starting with us. We turned to sharing positive quotes, funny jokes, and bible passages. Putting a positive spin on every situation is difficult; especially in health care when we deal with the sick, but having that overall positive perspective on my day has made my job more enjoyable in the meantime. It’s still not perfect and maybe not my dream job, but I’m lucky to have it and will continue to find ways to laugh and brush off the small stuff.

Morgan