Journey to Kona Day 72: Owning It!

It's easy to complain when things don't go right.  It's bad luck, or someone else's fault.  In my present training state, I stumbled on the trail and fell, and it's set my training back.  I could wallow in sorrow over my inability to train (which I'm trying hard not to do), I could blame myself for enjoying my trail run so much that I let my concentration lapse briefly, or I could blame the trail!  How about none of the above.

There are always challenges in our lives.  I'm reading today about the challenges that nursing homes are up against when it comes to both regulations and reimbursement and I realized, how is this any different?  It is what it is, and complaining without having solutions and a plan is no different than giving up and giving in.  When there is a challenge, one needs to look at the causes, for sure, but only to develop solutions. Complaining is never a solution.

In my field of geriatrics, and specifically in the realm of nursing homes, I've been guilty of complaining about regulations and fear mongering and inadequate reimbursement.  Yes, many these issues are problems.  However, complaining hasn't really changed things.  Why not?  Because people are scared. They're scared of getting old and becoming vulnerable and being taken advantage of and ignored.  Politicians are scared that they'll look like they don't care about older adults if they don't "do something" to protect nursing home residents.  Nursing home owners are scared, well, maybe not so much, or at least not as many. That's another story for another day.

I got on my bike today.  My ribs still hurt. I got into my aero position.  It was ok.  I rode for an hour and survived.  I have pain, but I was functional.  I'm owning my training and I'll move forward as best I can, doing what I can.  It's also time to write another article about nursing home care.  It's going to be about owning it.  It's going to lay out the challenge of focusing on solutions and not getting caught up in complaining  Yes, everyone wants more money. They always do.  That's not always the answer. Besides, where will the money go?  Where does it go now? There are always questions and there are always different views on any given topic.  One thing is for sure, if you own it, you have no need to complain!