I think there is this weird phenomenon that happens when you are anxious about the future and yet you are scrambling to manage the present. When you look into the future, it seems like your end-goal is so far away. It’s easy to say, “in one year” but when you consider all that happens, or even what can happen in a year, it doesn’t seem like enough time.
Right now, I’m considering that in the spring of 2020 I will be ready to take the NCLEX (presumably) and ideally, ready to head into the medical field as a brand new, sparky RN. It seems so far away and yet I start to panic thinking about everything I need to learn in such a short amount of time. A little over a year? Four semesters? That’s it?
When I was in school for my EMT certification, (wait, have I mentioned I was an EMT for many, many years? I can’t remember, but we will come back to that in another post) I was so overwhelmed by all that I had to learn to be allowed to go out into the world in a really big and really cool truck with lights and sirens and attempt to save the lives of those that needed me. There were many nights that I fell asleep on my textbook and had nightmares about killing people because I couldn’t remember DCAPBLTS. I finally spoke to my instructor about my fears and what he told me was so simple and yet so pivotal for me.
How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.
So simple it’s embarrassing, right? I think for me, it is so easy to get wrapped up in worrying about learning all of it. I am anxious to know all of it, but I can’t. No one can. You have to start with the basics. Every single metaphor I can think of applies… building a house, driving a car, something about Rome, and of course, eating an elephant. You have to start at the beginning and establish each step along the way. You can’t drive the car until you turn it on!
I know, I know. Super cheesy and lame, but you can’t tell me that I’m not right.
I don’t know who needs to hear this or read this, (you know, other than me), but here it is. You’ve got this. Forget the next year. Forget the next semester. Heck, forget the next test. Do what you can for today. If that means that you study one chapter today, do it. Any forward progress is progress and before you know it, you will be counting the days to your pinning ceremony.
The Diary of a Mad Nursing Student *Turned ER Nurse* 