1. Saying Thanks for the Little Things Bring Joy

Ever feel like you're racing against the clock, with barely a moment for self-care or reflection? I'm Jenny Lytle, a seasoned nurse, opening the doors to our virtual nurses' break room—a sanctuary for healthcare warriors. In the hustle of hospital corridors, offices, or patient homes (and the endless patient charts) this cozy nook promises a breath of serenity, where the power of gratitude is not just discussed but woven into the fabric of our daily lives. Imagine starting each day with a simple yet profound practice that doesn't demand loads of time, but simply the acknowledgment of three specific things you're grateful for. It's about cherishing the little joys—like the sight of deer on a rainy morning—and I'll guide you on how to embrace this ritual with ease and sincerity.

This episode is your invitation to step away from the chaos and into a space where you're understood and supported. Together, we'll explore the deceptive veil of perfection that social media casts over our lives and uncover the authentic contentment waiting beneath. Gratitude isn't just about saying 'thank you'; it's a transformative experience that enhances our mood and invites positivity, all without the need for pre-planning or grand gestures. So, pull up a chair, pour yourself a comforting beverage, and join me, as we empower ourselves through gratitude, finding clarity and joy in the small, often overlooked, moments of our day.

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Transcript

Jenny: 0:18

Hello and welcome to the nurses break room with Jenny Lytle RN. I am Jenny, and I'm so glad to have you here with me today. So this is a new podcast geared at helping nurses and others working in healthcare be able to come together in a safe space, a place that you probably don't get to visit often in real life the break room and it's going to be a place that you'll want to come and hang out for a little while. All of the episodes are going to be short, because I know that most of us don't have a lot of extra time and these are meant to be bite, size, actionable things that you can look forward to and you can fit them into your day, and sometimes maybe you'll have um. You can fit in two or three at once if you get a little behind, but you'll never have to carve out this big amount of time to come and um, take a little break, and the point is to have a safe space to be able to take breaks, maybe have breakthroughs and then occasional breakdown, and just really be with people who get it and do that in a way that is not only a way to vent and to have some fun, but to really be able to change things for the better in our lives, in our day to day lives.

Jenny: 1:40

I know that in the clients that I've worked with and the nurses and other healthcare professionals that I've talked to, one of the biggest issues is feeling like we don't have time to take care of ourselves or to de-stress. We don't have the energy, we don't know where to start, and so today I'm just going to focus on those things and how we can really have a big impact in just a little amount of time and effort. So it's not all or nothing, uh kind of thinking. We're just going to jump in a little bit. Today we are going to start with gratitude, and you know, gratitude is something that really can change our outlook when we're looking at all of the, all the things on social media, all of the things that maybe our coworkers seem to have or others that we see. Maybe they're driving a better car than we are, or their house is better, or their kids are better behaved, uh, or maybe they seem to have this picture perfect life. But one thing that being a nurse for 30 years has taught me is that none of us have it all together, especially when it comes to social media, most people put their best and sometimes fake face forward.

Jenny: 2:53

It's not always, but when we focused on the things that we do have, then that helps us to feel that sense of appreciation and attracts more of that into our life. And looking at the things that are going right in our lives um, isn't always our natural tendency. We can often look at the, the things that we wish were different, the areas that we feel like we're failing in. But when we focus on the things that are going well and and that may be things that you know because we've really put in a lot of time and effort into them and they're going well, or it may be something that is just this blessing that happens to be going well regardless when we take the time to acknowledge that and how that makes us feel, then that's a great first step to getting more of that, and so I encourage you to.

Jenny: 3:46

If it's not something that you regularly do, you can have a big, elaborate practice and write down things, and but even if you just stop, you don't take any time to whip out a journal and have this big production about it, even if you, just when you wake up of a morning, you think of three specific things that you're thankful for, and not big umbrella, generic kind of things like my family, my job, the roof over my head but get really specific with that. For instance, this morning, one of the things that I thought about as I was just going about my day I looked out I love seeing deer and I looked out and there were two deer that were right there. And it's raining and it's a dreary day, but I saw these two deer out there and I was just full of gratitude for being in a place where I'm able to see that and the fact that I slowed down enough in that moment to look out while they happen to be there. And it's just those little things that help to ground us and connect us to ourselves and to the world around us. And so I gratitude is as simple, easy, doesn't cost you anything, you don't have to do any pre-planning. It's just a great way to start to shift that focus onto ourselves a little bit, because as caregivers, we are so focused on taking care of others that we either feel selfish for taking care of ourselves or we just don't have it in us. We're tired, we've got all of these other responsibilities to take care of and being able to slow down a bit and just take a few moments throughout the day, of a morning and of an evening and just throughout the day, if it comes up for you again, just to be grateful for those specific things and really focus on all that is going. And it's amazing how simple, how easily that can help to turn things around for us.

Jenny: 5:46

And so I thank you so much for being here and for tuning in, and I just ask that you come back, you check out more episodes and that you invite your friends to check it out too, because we're all in this together. And if you would like and subscribe and leave a review, that would be absolutely wonderful. And I would also love to hear if you've got any topics that you would like to discuss or go over. I would love to hear about those as well. And if you're new to the whole self-care thing or just need to jump back into fitting yourself into the big picture of your schedule, then you can go to my website at JennyLytlecom slash guide and get a free guide that is designed to get you on the road to self-care quickly and easily and without taking any big time commitment. So thank you so much for being here, and I look forward to talking with you soon.