Season for Renewal

Good morning. 

We are about halfway through spring, the season characterized by warmer temperatures, flowers blooming and longer days. (Though I know the rain is needed, I could do without the spring storms, certainly.) Also, this season marks the beginning of the wrap up of the fiscal and academic year, leading into commencement later this month. 

This is a good time for reflection and personal renewal. 

Today’s takeaway is simple: I encourage each of you to take some time for yourself to recharge and restore. Slow down for a moment to reflect on that which is most important to you. Contemplate what you are grateful for and what you want to focus on more in the future. Clarify your priorities and where your time and attention are best spent. Recognize the importance of your mental and emotional health. 

I put that last sentence in bold because it can’t be overemphasized. I’ve said before that a healthier you is a better you, in your personal life and here at work. Everyone you engage with when you are at UMMC will benefit from you being your best self. This isn’t about doing more; it’s about having the capacity to feel better and bring your best self to your efforts. When you are at your best, everyone benefits – our patients and their families, our students, your colleagues and all those this institution serves – and you feel better. 

We’ve made positive strides in recent years in addressing workforce burnout and building resilience, and I’ll share more about those efforts and what the data show in next week’s column. For today, my goal is simply to offer encouragement: focus on you. Personally, it took me many years to finally figure out what recharges me and then it took me even longer to realize it was okay to make time and space for that. For me, its solitude and quiet. When you have a busy and loud work life and then also have a busy and boisterous home life,  prioritizing a bit of solitude can seem impossible and downright selfish. Once I realized I was better at my job and better at everything in life when I felt recharged, it was easier for me to seek out those quiet moments.   

So, please don’t think of this as being selfish. A renewed you is a stronger, more effective you – and one who is better equipped to help us achieve our shared mission of A Healthier Mississippi.