As a nurse, your career is fed by movement. Nursing can be a dynamic career path, and your approach to professional development is influenced by and influences many aspects of your life. At this point, is your career engaged in movement and flow, or is it experiencing some form of stagnation?
Testing the Waters
When you take an honest look at the current state of your nursing career, does it feel like a flowing river of possibility and growth, or is it a dry riverbed hungry for the moisture of curiosity, growth, personal and professional development, and change?
The flow of your career can be a perpetual movement if you and your life situation allow it to be. Many things can get in the way, including burnout, boredom, problems at home, financial struggles, and even the health of you, your family, and loved ones.
We have to guard against falling into the trap of just going along with what’s on our plate, even when we’re unhappy. Change can be challenging, but sometimes we must push ourselves to discover the next thing that will help us grow.
If you’ve been raising children, lost a loved one, gotten married or divorced, had to move multiple times, or had other stressful life changes, your career can sometimes have to take a back seat, either temporarily or for an extended period. This is natural.
You may be caring for aging parents, a veritable full-time job that can distract you from the certification you’ve always wanted or the degree you’d like to earn. With elderly parents, school-age children, or grandchildren you’re helping to raise, how much time can you possibly have for planning and building the next step in your nursing career?
Still Waters Run Deep
While forward movement is what we seek in the bigger picture, stillness can also be our ally, especially if it’s stillness based in contemplation and curiosity. There are moments in life when doing nothing and just thinking and feeling your way through to the next big thing works well, but this is very individual, of course.
Finding a new job simply out of a burning need for change isn’t necessarily a great strategy. Still, if you’re burned out or working in a highly negative or toxic environment, the flow of your career may be hampered by that unhappy situation.
If you’re feeling the need for change but aren’t sure what that change should be, looking inward for guidance can sometimes be more powerful than looking outward. Bear in mind, though, that everyone is different, and you may function better with action than stillness. It’s a very personal dynamic, and one size doesn’t fit all.
Expansive Like the Sea
At different times in life, we flow like a river, sit still like a deep lake, or feel expansive like the sea. That expansiveness can be where the ideas flow, and these times can be when you reach out to those who can open your mind to the possibilities you’re unable to see. You might find a nurse career coach or mentor to discuss the many options available to the curious or adventurous nurse seeking new horizons.
When you feel stuck in your nursing career and can’t seem to visualize what’s next, expansive and open-minded energy might be what’s needed to prop the door open.
The ocean cycles through its tides, and it never argues with the fact that low tide always returns. For us, it’s the same — our careers can arrive at periods of ebb or flow, and our success, happiness, and satisfaction depend on how much we can remain open to where the flow brings us next.
Swim Freely
Your nursing career should not feel restrictive; rather, it should feel expansive and filled with possibility.
If your career is not at a place of expansion, don’t despair — there are places to turn for support. You can find the people to lean on, the professionals to advise you, and a deep place within you that may already have the answers you need.
You were meant to swim freely, not to be boxed in or in a pigeonhole. Look for the avenues that offer growth and a sense of possibility, and then lean into those places. If one river leads to a dead end, turn around and try another route. The map isn’t necessarily predetermined, and the outcome is up for grabs.
And sometimes, when the path isn’t entirely clear, we create the path by simply moving forward with trust and an open mind, knowing that there’s enough abundance for all to experience a nursing career filled with satisfaction, growth, and joy.