Dear colleagues,
We all boil at different degrees.
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
That we all boil at different degrees is simply true. Whether with your staff in the clinic or at home, it is a very good thing to understand what others find upsetting, and how much patience they tend to have before becoming upset.
About this, David Specht writes:
Some of us are uncomfortable losing our patience, so we try to push down our impatient feelings as long as we can until … well, until we come to a boil. Others of us seem to reach our flashpoint very quickly, losing our patience while others around us in the same situation seem perfectly comfortable. Many of us lose our patience more easily when we are not feeling well, are overtired, or are in the midst of a discouraging set of days. We are not always consistent and this can create confusion for others around us (and sometimes for ourselves).
Because we don’t show up with “user instructions” conveniently taped to our forehead for others to read, it’s helpful when we can let others know when we are reaching our frustration threshold – ideally before we are really upset. There is no shame in losing our patience or becoming upset, but it is helpful if we can notice our rising impatience before things come to a boil. Noticing before this happens gives us a chance to let others know that we’re struggling, feeling impatient, before we lose our temper and say something we later regret.
What do you understand about your own boiling point? How about the boiling points of those you spend a lot of time with?
Kind regards,
GME Wellness Committee
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