New Nurse Success Tip: Standing at the Crossroads of your Career

When nurses graduate from nursing school, unbeknownst to them, they are standing at a crosswalk. Some nurses will go left and some will go right. This decision will determine how successful, happy and satisfied they are with their decision to become a nurse. This decision will determine if they will become successful and thrive or unsuccessful and burn out.

Which way will you go?

I study human behavior – in particular, successful people. I just love to read about how someone who was locked in a closet for the first 4 years of his life and fed dog food, grew up to be a world humanitarian while someone else who was provided all of the luxuries known to man become a drug dealer or psycho killer! Human behavior fascinates me.

Out of the 2,000 + books and articles I’ve read about successful humans, one common characteristic exists. It’s this characteristic that faces you at the crossroad…it’s this characteristic that determines how successful you become.

At the crossroads

The most common characteristic of successful people is simple – they commit to personal development. 

They commit to personal development INDEPENDENT of what their employer expects of them; independent of whether or not they get paid for learning; independent of what everyone else does. Successful people commit to continuous learning and by doing that, succeed.

Action

When you graduate from nursing school, sorry to say but you’re not done cookin’ yet! Your knowledge and competence as a nurse has only begun. New nurses, who understand this, succeed. New nurses who think they’re “done” learning, don’t.

Simple ways to commit

·      Read everyday – I carve out 30 minutes EVERY DAY to read.

·      Ask questions – lots of questions!

·      Attend inservices, webinars, workshops, seminars, etc – even if you have to pay for it yourself. The money you spend will be well worth it.

·      Understand that YOU are responsible for the knowledge you have – not your employer.

As the late Jim Rohn said, "Formal education will make you a living - self education will make you a fortune!"

Successful, therefore, is simple – not easy, but simple. Choose the path towards personal development.

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Thanks for choosing to become a nurse! I’m cheering for your success. For more success tips, make sure you sign up for my eNews list by clicking here.

Stay connected!

Renee

Would love to read your comments. Let's chat about what you need to succeed!