Ep154: The Mentally Strong Nurse (13 Things Mentally Strong People DON’T Do) w/ Amy Morin LCSW | NURSING.com

Amy Morin LCSW is a clinical social worker and psychotherapist that knows a thing or two about developing mental strength.

In a matter of just a couple years she lost her mother, husband, and father-in-law.  Felling like her life was in “shambles” she realized she needed to find a way to move forward and find happiness in life.

She sat down one day, grabbed a sheet of paper, and wrote a list of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do.  On a whim she published the list to the internet. . . . within about a week the article had been viewed over 10,000,000 times and she was being contacted by a publisher.

What started as a cathartic exercise became a viral topic online.  In December 2014 she published her book:

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do: Take Back Your Power, Embrace Change, Face Your Fears, and Train Your Brain for Happiness and Success

The book was a hit . . . becoming a USA Today best seller.

Amy has been featured . . . basically everywhere form Time Magazine,  The Washington Post, INC.com, Huffington Post, Oprah.com and so many more.

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Why Mental Strength for Nurses

Let’s face it . . . nursing is a TOUGH job.  Its also a highly challenging degree.  We see things on a daily basis that most people will never encounter in their lives.

One a daily basis we get emails from nursing students who are considering giving up on nursing . . . it’s really THAT hard.

What is mental strength?

Mentally strong people have healthy habits. They manage their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in ways that set them up for success in life.

Amy shares that only 17% of adults are actually mentally strong . . . but if you were to ask a room full of people if they thought they were mentally strong, the majority would raise their hand!

Sadly, I would estimate that within nursing that number might even be a bit lower.  I see so many new nurses entering the hospital for the first time with bright eyes thinking that they are going save the world.  The truth of the matter is that health care can be incredibly depressing and stressful.

What does the nurse do when their vision of being a bedside nurse drastically collides with the reality of modern health care?

Unfortunately, what often occurs is the new nurse does one of a couple things:

• Burns out
• Develops unhealthy habits
• Starts resenting patients altogether

Happiness and success are two things that everyone is searching for . . . many times in the wrong places!

This concept of mental strength will help you look internally and discover those areas you can work on to find peace, set you goals, and define success for yourself.

Nursing School

I have shared a few times before that right before finishing nursing school I actually withdrew . . . I had allowed a bad instructor to control my happiness.  I had actually given up control of my life, happiness, and success to one lousy instructor.

How sad is that?

It wasn’t for nearly another year that I returned to nursing school and completed my degree.

How often have you allowed individuals, patients, parents, siblings, companies to control your well-being?

I still have a ways to go, but I would like to think that I have grown a bit since that time in nursing school.

Don’t Become Another Statistic

There is a bright side to all this . . .

You are a human BEING . . . life isn’t over once you finish nursing school.

You can learn, grow, develop, and progress even after you get to add that RN after your name.

The moment we think are are done progressing we are in real trouble.

So here is what you can do to develop mental strength and avoid becoming another new nurse stastic and even more importantly so that you can be happy . . . really happy!

• Read the list or the book (the book will give you more tips on developing mental strength)
• Write down you definition of success (in regards to things you CAN control)
• Identify areas that you can grow in
• Start incorporating the suggestions from Amy into your life

Learn More About Mental Strength

Being a successful nurse is so much more than simply learning a few skills and tricks.  I want you to find true success and happiness in life.  Learning how to develop mental strength is KEY to this.  I invite you to read the article and book as well as consider enrolling in her e-course about mental strength.

Here are some resources, from Amy, that you can use to learn more about Mental Strength.

FREE – Follow Amy on Twitter @AmyMorinLCSW

FREE – Read the Article

$9.99 – $20.00 – Read the Book

$97.00 – Take the Course

If I could PLEAD with you to read this book I would.

Here is the complete list:

1. They Don’t Waste Time Feeling Sorry for Themselves
2. They Don’t Give Away Their Power
3. They Don’t Shy Away from Change
4. They Don’t Waste Energy on Things They Can’t Control
5. They Don’t Worry About Pleasing Everyone
6. They Don’t Fear Taking Calculated Risks
7. They Don’t Dwell on the Past
8. They Don’t Make the Same Mistakes Over and Over
9. They Don’t Resent Other People’s Success
10. They Don’t Give Up After the First Failure
11. They Don’t Fear Alone Time
12. They Don’t Feel the World Owes Them Anything
13. They Don’t Expect Immediate Results

Your Turn

Tell me which of the 13 things you need to work on the most?  . . . this is your chance to be honest and vulnerable.