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When times are tough, it’s often easy to fall into a trap of negative thinking. It becomes easier to pass judgement on the perceived shortcomings of our peers when we have a short fuse. 

In light of these pressing challenges in today’s healthcare environment, our podcast today includes strategies to avoid these common occurrences. 

Today’s Healthcare Experience Matters podcast episode includes highlights from a recently released webinar from the Healthcare Experience Foundation (HXF) featuring Katie Owens, the Co-Founder and President of HXF.

Our podcast producer has edited this webinar for a more friendly podcast listening experience. 

The objectives of this podcast include: 

As we learn in today’s broadcast, a solution-oriented approach to reinforcing positivity is key to building resilience and avoiding some of these negative emotions. 

“What we want to talk about today is hitting that pause,” Katie said. “How do we suspend blame and judgment? How do we employ emotional intelligence techniques so that we can reset ourselves?”

As Katie reminds us on today’s broadcast, the only person that we really control is our self. With that in mind, these changes need to start from within. 

The fact that negative sentiments tend to stick to us like Velcro while positive feelings often slide off us like Teflon, is an unfortunate reality that we must deal with as humans. 

Negative thoughts tend to scream at us while the positive often whispers. This is human nature. 

“You don’t have to look far to see the impact that blame and negativity can have if it’s not in check,” Katie said.

When we are “burning the candle at both ends” our ability to deal with these obstacles is a lot more challenging. Our ability to empathize is diminished as we struggle to keep up with our workload and responsibilities at home. 

On the flip side, we know that when we can effectively manage our home-life dynamics, it’s a lot easier to avoid judging others.

“Placing blame or fault jeopardizes our relationships even though it might feel cathartic in the moment,” Katie said. “Despite all of us thinking we’re extraordinarily self-aware, we do and say a lot without realizing our impact on others, or that emotional wake that we leave behind.”

Katie outlines some critical and practical strategies to use in these situations, and a lot of it starts with doubling down on kindness when we feel annoyed, impatient, or our tempers starting to ratchet up.

The power of doubling down on kindness is very important, and when we parlay that effort with effective listening strategies, it can really make a difference in our relationships. 

The importance of personal resilience speaks for itself. As we learn on today’s broadcast, sending a compliment to a colleague or a message of gratitude can go a long way in fighting burnout, stress, and emotional exhaustion. 

“If it’s at all possible, you should really try to minimize your time with those who suck the energy out of the room or drag you down,” Katie said. “It’s also important to try to go out of your way to give compliments.”

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Check out more episodes of Healthcare Experience Matters – released every Thursday morning – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or the podcast platform of your choice!

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