Step 2: Find more friends

I met Adam as a student nurse and we've been together ever since. We've followed each other around jobs, hospitals and the world.

After a few years in my first job I wanted to stretch my wings. I wanted to see what else was out there, what others things happened to cardiac patients that I was seeing where I was.

I guess that was the curious nature, constant learning and the need for stretch that factors throughout my career.

I moved to a larger hospital and was way way out of my comfort zone. Some of my worst behaviours and terrible stories of how I spoke to other people. I was scared, alone and out of my depth. I learnt so much about me and how not to be at my best. To say I'm embarrassed by who I was and how I behaved back then is an understatement.

The work was good, and I learnt loads, stuff I wouldn't have seen or experienced elsewhere. It was a stretch for sure, though I never quite felt like I was quite getting it. We need a support structure around us. We need friends. I was away from everyone and it was really tough. Adam got a job somewhere else and being apart from everyone was a step too much.

I did get great experience that I can use, I learnt from the worst parts of me as to what I didn't want to be and it was the start of how I learnt what I need to be at my best. On reflection it's also about the strength I have now to be understanding, probing and empathetic. When people aren't showing up as best they can, there is often something driving that. I want to be who I needed at my side back then.

What about you?

Prompts to reflect on your career

Was there a time when you looked for an intentional stretch? What happened?

What was a moment when you knew you weren’t at your best? What did you learn from that?

Who is always in your corner supporting you and cheering you on? Have you told them?