I’ve been hitting the Ryan Holiday stuff and stoicism hard lately, and this phrase rings loud and true for me. Hopefully it does for you too.
DOING the things that make you something is what really matters. Just BEING something means nothing.
So, you’re a (FF, EMT, Medic, Nurse)? Of course that’s what the badge says. But do you actually do the things? Do you actually work and do what those people do? I’m not talking about taking care of a patient or putting out a fire. That’s your job. If you didn’t do it, you wouldn’t be able to call yourself a (fill in the blank). I’m talking about the work. Living the life. Training, preparing, and mastering the craft. It’s the difference between “it’s a job” and “this is what I do, who I am.”
Are you here because this is what you want to do? Because this is what you want to commit your life to?
Or are you here because you feel entitled to be here. Your resume was good enough therefore you are good enough. Are you here because you want to tell people that this is what you do? You know, cash in on the brand without being a contributor. It is a lie, a lie of omission. You let people think and believe what they want to (for the most part we are held in high esteem by both the public and by the rest of the profession), and you prey on their ignorance. They have no idea whether or not you train and practice (unless they find out the hard way). They have no idea what your reputation is inside the community. They have no clue whether or not you are any good. They just know that you wear the uniform/flight suit and therefore you must be good at what you do. In some cases they desperately hope that you are.
…and it is easy to hide. We aren’t under the Friday night lights or the TV screens on Sundays. Rarely is what we do portrayed live for the public to see… and unless it is on social media, it is even rarer that our personal lives are out there like the sports star’s are. Mostly because most of us live unspectacular lives and are unspectacular people. Those that are, well, they do so quietly unless they are contributing to the professional development of others. That’s the only way to get your name out in the industry, teach, coach, train, and help others within the community get better.
How do you do that? You gotta live the life.
Live the Life… This has become one of my mantras. When it is too hot, too cold, too late, or some other nonsense I tell myself this when I don’t feel like doing the work. It takes what it takes to be here and be good at it. It is difficult to get here, and it takes 10x the amount of work to stay here and be successful and accomplished.
It takes so much DOING to make the BEING mean something.
If you want all of the accolades and credibility that comes with being at a certain level, you have to do the work. You have to live the life. Pre and post shift. That work being both the preparation work to be successful as well as actually DOING the work of taking care of patients at that level. Then, of course, reflecting on the actions and finding the areas to improve and get better. That is what I mean when I say “live the life..”
More VERB, less NOUN.
We make the mistake of believing that with success comes less work and more relaxation.
Success does not mean less work. It means more… of everything it takes to be successful.
Effort
Time away from home
More loneliness
Pain
Process
Do the work and live the life so that you can be who and what you are EXPECTED to be when you show up to do the business…
