Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Embracing Change (the video)

One thing we know for sure today is that change and uncertainty happens daily.  How we choose to react to uncertainty can either paralyze us with fear or thrust us into a world of new possibilities.  In this short video cancer registrars are given four ways to explore uncertainty in their life that will help them accept and accommodate change in order to bring about higher levels of growth and success and to develop agility and flexibility in the cancer registry.




http://www.RegistryMindset.com.  Michele Webb, America’s Cancer Registry Coach, is a nationally recognized, certified cancer registrar (CTR).  She cares passionately about helping cancer registrars around the world to grow personally and professionally and serves her community as a motivational speaker, author, and educator.  You have permission to repost this article as long as you do not alter it in any way, give credit to the author and link back to her website.       

Embrace Uncertainty

(Part Four of our series on "Agility Training for the Cancer Registrar")

Much is said today in business, healthcare and Cancer Registry about change. In fact, one thing I know for sure is that we, as cancer registry professionals, are undergoing an unprecedented degree of change right now which will continue well into our future. Thinking about change today or projecting how it will impact our future can settle in on us like a dense fog and cause us to lose our bearings and sense of where we are. We may not be sure of which way to go when we reach a fork in the road because we can’t see the choices in front of us because of the fog. Uncertainty can paralyze us with fear or it can thrust us into a world of new possibilities.

Change brings chaos into our normally well-ordered lives and introduces levels of unpredictability and uncertainty that make us uncomfortable. Dealing with change is challenging, tiring and even threatening, but the flip side is that it provides the cancer registrar with tremendous opportunities for growth. Let’s look at how we can focus on accommodating the change instead of railing against it.

In the first article of our on developing agility in the cancer registry, we introduced embracing uncertainty as one way of becoming agile, or flexible in business. Agile cancer registrars will drive out uncertainty by developing working solutions and adjusting the registry’s operations in order to accommodate change. Dealing with uncertainty in a positive manner and being willing to accept things that are unknown or unpredictable are big parts of learning to be agile.

To help you face the challenges in a positive manner and to increase your agility in the cancer registry and healthcare business, here are four ways you can explore change:

1.  Accept reality without fussing about the outcome. Face reality with no judgment. Think of the unknown as neutral rather than good or bad. Let go and detach from any outcome you cannot control. Keep your options open.

2.  Explore the unknown. Ask yourself these questions:
  • What are all the things that are great about being a cancer registrar?
  • What is the worst that can happen?
  • What is the likelihood that the worse will happen?
  • If the worst were to happen, what do I need to do prepare?
3.  Interrupt worry. The unknown can cause us to worry to the point of doing physical harm, but only if you let it. When worry starts to creep into your thoughts, interrupt it! Simply do not allow it to take hold of you. Here is how you can interrupt worry:
  • Get busy: occupy your body and your mind will follow.
  • Put it off: decide to enjoy today and maybe you’ll worry tomorrow – if it feels right.
  • Turn it over: write down your worry, put it in a box, and turn it over to a higher power.
  • Hum a tune: it is impossible to worry when you’re singing or humming, even if it is not out loud. Find a song that gives you strength. “A Beautiful Day” by India.Arie is a great one.
4.  Trust yourself. You’ve probably faced change and challenges in the past. Reflect on those times and remind yourself how well you handled them, even though you may have been uncomfortable at the time. Trust in your abilities, thoughts and experience to take you through the transition.

None of us can be certain about tomorrow or the future of cancer registry. We can fret and fume about it, but no matter how much noise we make, we cannot control it. What we CAN do, each of us as cancer registry professionals, is make the most of each moment…each NOW….because that is really all we have. Only you can bring peace and acceptance of the unknown to you.

Accepting change and allowing uncertainty into our lives can lead us to a higher state of functioning as cancer registrars. Embracing uncertainty, then, is really just an engaging process in which we let go of control. Think of this as a spiraling UP in complexity, moving up the ladder of intellectual, emotional and professional growth. Engage your co-workers, peers and leaders in the process of embracing uncertainty. Don’t be afraid to network and ask for help and guidance where needed. By welcoming uncertainty and unpredictability into your life you will be expanding your horizons and developing agility in your cancer registry that will lead to great success and self-fulfillment!

http://www.registrymindset.com/. Michele Webb, America’s Cancer Registry Coach, is a nationally recognized, certified cancer registrar (CTR). She cares passionately about helping cancer registrars around the world to grow personally and professionally and serves her community as a motivational speaker, author, and educator. You have permission to repost this article as long as you do not alter it in any way, give credit to the author and link back to her website.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Challenge Your Assumptions

(Part Three of Our Series on "Agility Training for the Cancer Registrar)

Assumptions make our lives easier. As creatures of habit we frequently rely on our assumptions and past experiences to drive our actions. Most of our day, with few exceptions, is driven by our unconscious assumptions and habits developed over time versus creative thinking and new conscious thought.

For example, when cooking over an open flame you automatically draw your hand back when you feel heat from the flame. This “stimulus-thought-response” chain of events relates to pain you previously felt from burning your hand. This automatic assumption serves you well and avoids a painful experience.

In business, however, this is often not the case. Cancer Registrars, for example, may use any number of assumptions, or statements of belief about their work, such as:
  • “That won’t work here.”
  • “I’ve tried that before.”
  • “We don’t get support for that here.”
  • “They just don’t listen to me.”
Brilliant, and successful, Cancer Registrars know that these assumptions can be challenged and take great pleasure in defying them. They welcome the opportunity to look within themselves, to create a new energy and develop new directions to solving problems or leading their Cancer Registry in a different direction.

Each of us has an inner reservoir of talent, ability, and intelligence. It is endless and readily available if we are willing to step out of our comfort zone to tap into these resources. Whatever you face, taking one step closer to success means you must trust your inner self, ignore criticism and judgment, and let go of your own resistance to doing something differently or believing that you can make a difference. Developing a new habit or behavior, based on what you know in your heart to be the right thing to do, is all the evidence you need to make your passion become reality. This mindset is what creates harmony and balance in life and business and determines your path between success and failure.

Here are six tips to help you challenge your assumptions:
  1. Recognize that you, and everyone else, have assumptions about every situation.
  2. Ask basic questions in order to discover and challenge those assumptions.
  3. Compare the ground rules and assumptions to your situation or problem and then ask yourself, “What if we do the opposite of the norm?”
  4. Pretend you are not a Cancer Registrar and ask yourself, “Why do we do it this way at all?”
  5. Reduce the problem or situation to its most basic elements for understanding and creative problem solving.
  6. Restate the problem in completely different terms.
It is up to you to decide what you would like to do to drive growth and success in your Cancer Registry. You must be willing to step outside of your comfort zone to challenge your assumptions and develop new behaviors to help you grow personally and professionally. By tapping into your inner resources you will develop a new mindset that is creative and in harmony with everyone you encounter.

http://www.RegistryMindset.com. Michele Webb, America’s Cancer Registry Coach, is a nationally recognized, certified cancer registrar (CTR). She cares passionately about helping cancer registrars around the world to grow personally and professionally and serves her community as a motivational speaker, author, and educator. You have permission to repost this article as long as you do not alter it in any way, give credit to the author and link back to her website.

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Visualizing Success

(Part Two of Series "Agility Training for the Cancer Registrar)

Visualizing success, or turning dreams into reality, is a creative process that puts your focus and energies into looking ahead. Creative visualization is a technique that you can use to help you with this process. In the first part of our series on “Agility Training for Cancer Registrars,” we talked about visualizing success as part of meeting the challenges in life and business. In this session we will learn how to visualize success and turns dreams into reality!

To turn your dreams into reality and to be truly successful depends on several factors:
  • Having a specific goal,
  • Making sure that you really want to achieve that goal,
  • Having a clear mental picture of your goal,
  • Being motivated or having a strong desire or need to achieve the goal,
  • Developing the ability to disregard, or even walk away from negative thoughts or talk that take you away from that goal,
  • Showing confidence, faith and persevering until you achieve success.
Imaging having your own personal genie in a bottle to fulfill your every dream or desire. When you develop the techniques and begin to practice creative visualization you are tapping into your personal genie. Focusing on the end result, thinking and acting in a positive manner and not letting negativity (yours or anyone else’s) get in the way will empower you to continue on your journey.

Each morning I write out my “to do” list for the day on a 4x6 index card. On the right-hand side of the card I write my vision statement for my business. On the left-hand side I write down the most important things I need to do that day that will take me closer to my vision and goal. Then, I focus on the action steps and on completing the tasks that will help me reach my goal. By taking it one day at a time I know I will be successful. No one can deter me from this because I see my dream getting closer each and every day.

Discover what you need to do to visualize your dream and then, one day at a time, do something that takes you one step closer. Practice visualizing that success in your mind, focus on the positive, take action, even if only in small steps, and you will see your dreams come true!

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