Free Compliments for Nurses or anyone else

Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it.
Swedish Proverb

From the fantastic Nursetopia blog I wanted to share this poster that I am taking to work with me in the morning. Going to pay back kindness and make my coworkers day!! We all need to feel appreciated and part of the team, even the guy who mops the floor is an integral part of our team.
Kindness spreads like fire, a simple smile can make the day of another nurse, doctor, family member who needs a lift.
Work is hard enough; share the love. You can download your own on the Nursetopia site and save to your computer to share with your boss and others on your team. Click the image to go there.

From the oh so even wonderful Kind over Matter blog

is even more "Kind over Matter" if you will say. 

I love this blog just as much, such positive vibes flow. 

The poster is another that you can place in your break room to  pass on

the kindness 

Click the image to go to the page and download

quoted from the KOM website, some grand stuff: 

Before I became a work-at-home mama I rocked a day job in health care. I was a nurse's aide in quite a few different settings. I worked all three shifts throughout the 7 years that I worked in the field. I worked in a handful of nursing homes, personal care homes, a rehabilitation center, an assisted living complex & then finally, in home health care. I really did love helping people but it was a SUPER stressful profession, both mentally & physically, especially when we were understaffed. What would make or break my day would be who was on with me that shift. At one point, during my first year of work, I worked with SUCH an amazing TEAM. Like, we got shit done, we didn't skimp, we all loved our residents to pieces & we worked TOGETHER to finish our tasks & raise the quality of our residents' lives. We went that extra mile to make each other smile too. It was truly a beautiful thing.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Another great reminder is Kate Swoboda's Love Letter to the World

 Kindness really is contagious, maybe you can get the bug to spread in your place of work by taking one of the steps below! It won't hurt, I promise!

Start Small. Most of the things I am about to mention will take you no more than 5 minutes or less to do. Say thank you, make coffee, tidy the break room, do the dishes, have a sense of humor, SMILE MORE, complain less, don't gossip, give praise freely. Be Kind, Be Kind, BE KIND. You probably spend an upwards of 2,000 or so hours with your co-workers a year. You should really try to make it a positive experience for yourself & those around you.

Bring Food. Bagels, chocolate, fruit, donuts, chocolate, cookies, cupcakes, a veggie tray... chocolate! It doesn't matter what it is. Bring it. Share it. Bake something & bring it in (Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes!?), a covered dish, anything will surely be a huge hit! You don't have to go all out either, stop at your local grocery store pick up some fresh or frozen bagels & a tub of cream cheese, a box of donuts, pick up some coffee on your way to work or better yet, offer to run out & pick up a coffee or food order.

Start a Gratitude Board. As I was scouring Flickr for photos to feature in this post I ran across the one above. Her company has a "Thank You Board" - whomever has the most notes each month wins Employee of the Month & is rewarded. Of course, whomever has been the employee of the month the most throughout the year becomes the employee of the year at the end of the year! Love this idea, so much.

The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.
William James

Show Your Appreciation. This harmonizes with the suggestion above because I feel that is extremely important & want to emphasize on it more. Maybe one of your co-workers showed you how to do something or to get more personal, shared with you a great book, song, poet or movie that you deeply enjoyed. Let them how much you appreciate them by saying Thank You, maybe you can return the favor. Show them how grateful you are by acknowledging them, you can pass along the goodness they shared with you to someone else. When you do, don't let the person that turned you on to or helped you with something out of the story. Not only is it one of the most important parts of the story but by doing so, the gift of appreciation will continue to be given to them & that my friends, is truly a beautiful thing.

No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise & confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.
Author Unknown
Share Yourself & Encourage Others to Do the Same. Open up, let yourself be seen. This will make you vulnerable but it will also be the only way you will connect on a deeper level. Hang photos of your loved ones, display mementos of your interests & passions (ummm, don't go overboard though!) If you have an office, keep your door open as much as possible. When folks arrive make them feel welcomed. (Did I mention chocolate?!) Share the important things in your life. Ask about the important things in your co-workers' lives. Sometimes all anyone needs is someone to talk to.

So, if you rock a day job... commit yourself to being Kind. It really does go a long way.

On another note: Important Please Read!

Nurses live and work in such stressful environments that sometimes we tend to turn on ourselves, forget who we are and hurt each other. Lateral violence or horizontal violence among nurses is on the rise and should not be tolerated. As a victim of this kind of violence I really was not aware of it until I stepped away and looked back.

If you are suffering at work, hate your job, never get any kindness, other nurses are treating you unfairly and/or your management is also treating you unfairly. You need help. You need to think seriously about your life, your job and your happiness. How can you take care of your patients when you are not happy yourself.

Think about that a while

Leslie