Adventures in Nursing Blog

That's How Winning Is Done

That's How Winning Is Done

Social media punched me in the mouth the other day. It's been a while, I forgot how it felt. It was a personal attack on me, and it hurt. True or not, perception is reality to each individual. Maybe I've become soft. Maybe I've drank too much of our kool-aid.

Or maybe that's just life.

For the past six years this has hung behind my desk at home. I bought it shortly after some changes occurred in my life, and I've used it as a constant reminder.

"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!"

Applies to me. Applies to the internal staff at Atlas. Applies to the nurses that work for us. Each one of us is in control of our lives. No one owes any of us anything. The second you start pointing fingers, you lose. I reminded myself of that the other day. I'm not perfect. Atlas isn't perfect. We can't make everyone happy all the time. I can't make everyone happy all the time. Even with the best intentions and hard work every day, we will make mistakes. We will fail. We will let people down. It happens. That's life. Even the most diligent and strong-willed fail.

But Atlas was built differently. We'll always take responsibility for our mistakes. We'll learn from our failures. We will pick up the pieces and rebuild when things break down. We will communicate those failures and correct them. This has been our way since the day we opened our doors, and that isn't going to change.

I want to be very clear. Atlas is stronger than it's ever been. But there are always ways to improve. We will always get better. We will never stop moving forward. That's how winning is done.

X