Do not feed the Bears

A seemingly long time ago I worked with this charge nurse who would tell me every shift: ” Don’t feed the bears Heike.”

She didn’t want me to overextend myself in the care of malingerers or anyone else misusing the services of the emergency room we both worked in. Lest they would return with a vengeance for more misuse, absorbing valuable resources, time and energy that should have been dedicated to the ones presenting with true emergencies. Now this is not about health care.

This is about me having figured out how to stop my personal bears from invading. It took me long enough to discern who is true to their heart about me and who saunters through just to get what’s getting worth in their opinion. I had to take a good look at myself to understand and appreciate my worth. Yes. My worth. I was completely innocuous about how I allowed others to ransack my essence. Constantly allowing myself to become depleted, just to have to start from scratch again to replenish my love and wonder for life. It took for me to just about loose my sparkle, my joie de vivre, to come to my senses and begin to hold myself to such a high standing that no more malingerers are welcome. Let alone treat them in such a way to invite them back. I have come to scrutinize who and what gets my time, energy and attention. If I sense anything that I do not want in my life, I shift my focus away from it and pay attention to the things and people I do want in my life.