After over a year and half of a pandemic, I don’t need to cite data to validate that this has been an incredibly difficult time for millions of people in our own country, not to mention worldwide. It has affected healthcare in ways that are immeasurable and more impactful than most any other industry. Front line workers have described feeling beyond burnout—many describing a sense of numbness. The continual changes in healthcare delivery, the risks of contracting Covid and its variants, the backup of appointments, the frustration of patients who are experiencing scheduling issues, employee and provider turnover, depression and mental health issues, political dissension, and the conflicting information permeating the environment have all contributed to the sense of powerlessness and hopelessness.
What can you do to uplift yourself and others in your communities? How can each of you raise your own spirits as well as those with whom you work and live?
Uplifting Yourself and Others
1. Be gentle with yourself.
Being hard on ourselves is one of the biggest challenges for most of us. We are so quick to find fault in ourselves and feel the accompanying sense of guilt. Then we try harder to be worthy, perfect, and needed. And we often project our guilt onto others in the form of blame and attack. For the most part, guilt is a negative emotion that is part of our own personal script. Change the story you tell yourself and your emotions will follow! You will feel better, and you will be more loving and compassionate to those you encounter. A Course in Miracles says, “When you feel guilty, your ego is in command, because only the ego can feel guilty.” ACIM continues, “When you have given up this voluntary dis-spiriting, you will see how your mind can rise above fatigue and heal.” So, you can lift yourself from the burdensome feelings and tortuous thoughts if you so choose. But first you must recognize that you are causing your feelings and let up the pressure on yourself. Be kind to yourself, and that will allow you to be kind to others.
2. Breathe in gratitude for all that you do have.
In tumultuous times, it is easy to see all that is wrong in the workplace and the world. Despite all the conditions and problems, you do have good things in your life as well, but they can seem to fade in the background when you are stressed and anxious. When we can live in gratitude and see our lives as the gifts they are, we not only uplift ourselves, but we also uplift everyone we encounter. We are a blessing to others. We are a light. We need the light in each of us to bring about cooperation and peace in the world. We are the only ones who can. So, start each day with naming things for which you feel grateful. Gratitude lifts your spirits, reminds you to feel joy, and starts your day on the right note.
3. Be present and stop being overwhelmed.
Most of the time, we are completely lost in the world of our mind and our stories—our own personal drama. Authentic power is found only in the present because everything else is not real—it is in the past or the imagined future. When we feel overwhelmed it is because we are trying to handle too much or imagining a crisis in the future. When we become present, we immediately calm down and we stop scaring ourselves. Being in the present, everything feels much easier.
4. Look within and see your own fears of inadequacies and lack of self-worth.
If you must cover up any weaknesses, you will be on the defense and that is never a powerful place to be. Notice if you interrupt, respond too quickly, deny, blame, or exaggerate. When you are authentic, you are humble, you can say you are wrong and, even say you are sorry. Arrogance and the need to be right are the hallmarks of the ego’s need to prove itself. When we are cynical or argumentative, we are not in the flow of love. We are caught in our ego and fictitious beliefs.
5. Trust in the unknown and allow change.
Let go of energy-draining stories from the past and allow new experiences to unfold. If you already know something, based on past experiences, then it is not new. Therefore, you will project the same old stories into your future. When you trust that the future will unfold each day from the wisdom in each moment, you are inviting new possibilities and synchronistic experiences into your life. You are making the space for joy in your life. Trust that what you need will appear.
6. Understand the source of conflict and dissension.
Drama and conflict are a result of reaction and counter-reaction. Attack and blame escalate the dissension. The way we unravel the drama is to recognize our own part in it. When we blame others, make them the enemy, and claim self-righteousness, we perpetuate drama and conflict. We back others into a corner, and they will only come back fighting. The steps for unraveling drama and finding your own freedom and peace are the following:
- When you feel triggered to be angry, superior, defensive, passive aggressive, or dismissive, immediately pause and take a deep breath.
- Be willing to recognize what fear or inadequacy in you is being triggered.
- Recognize you cast this person in your drama, and they may not even know they are part of your drama.
- Whatever they are saying or doing that causes this reaction in you is coming from their drama and is not about YOU. But if you are triggered or hooked in their drama, then your reaction is coming from you and some inner wound. Stop being the star of the drama and let go of your need to make them wrong.
- Enjoy the peace and freedom that is yours when you are authentically responding rather than being hooked into others’ issues. You are no longer a puppet.
- Understand that the enemy is a gift—be it a person, a political figure, a circumstance, the news, or social media. They allow you to see and heal your own weakness, fears, and wounds.
7. Be a voice for truth and freedom.
Be discerning and follow your internal, intrinsic feelings about the chaos in the world. Don’t allow the noise and clamor to drown your voice for truth. You can speak clearly and honestly without making others wrong. Too many are afraid to speak up and they allow the loudest voices to dominate the stage. Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and other great leaders led movements, not by attacking others, but being courageous enough to speak the truth despite pushback and criticism.
8. Align with a higher consciousness—Universal Love.
Universal love is the source of everything and is the power that sustains all life. You are part of that higher consciousness—Universal Love. So, I invite you to BE LOVE—a leadership model in which who you are “being” is more important than what you “do.” The results achieved through love far exceed anything done only by an ego-driven leader relying on artificial power. The BE LOVE model of leadership rebuilds relationships in the workplace by honoring the spirit in ourselves and others residing beneath our self-created ego identities that battle and compete for power and validation. The BE LOVE model of leadership heals the workplace culture. People working in cooperation can achieve incredible results. Join me in illuminating the workplace stage with Universal Love.
“In the end, people want to love. They don’t want to hate. And we can accelerate that with good leadership.”
–Arthur Brooks, professor at the Harvard Kenney School and Harvard Business School, economist, and author, in an interview with Stephen Dubner on Freakonomics Radio.
