It’s been four weeks and a few days since I had my hip replacement surgery. For the last six months prior to the surgery I was plagued with a constant grinding pain that impacted every aspect of my life. I was frequently cranky with friends and loved ones, lacked focus in my work, and exhibited all the energy of a sloth on thorazine.
The surgery went off without the slightest hitch. My surgeon was Anthony DiGioia who has a national reputation for treating hips and knees and he proved to merit every nuance of that reputation. Highly recommended. My treatment took place at Magee Women’s Hospital and my three days there were marked by the extraordinary care physicians, nurses, rehabilitation specialists and even the janitorial staff carried out their work. Again, highly recommended.
The real learning for me, however, took place when I undertook my rehabilitation, which began the day after surgery. The rehab staff were infinitely kind but cut their patients no slack. Our “job” was to attack our exercises with every ounce of determination we could muster.
As your basic type A, fast-track, impatient-for-results individual, I had to learn that value of patience until it permeated my bone marrow. As Lori, my splendid outpatient therapist put it, the trauma of the surgery had destroyed my muscles’ ability to remember. They needed to be retaught how to function. I wanted significant results yesterday; however, my muscles were not obeying my will. They were talking their own sweet time. The name of the curriculum was Neal will learn to take small steps (literally!) and learn the lessons of patience. Four weeks later I’m up and about and very mobile.
It seems clear there are parallels here for the job seeker. We decide to look for a job because we are experiencing pain of some sort: frustration, anger, or depression around our current job. Or, we’ve been laid off, and we’re anxious, angry and grieving our loss of income.
For most of us, we were never trained to identify and find work we love. We must train ourselves. To shorten our learning curve, some of us turn to mentors to help us come through the process. We must learn and practice the strategies that will make us job-ready and competitive in the marketplace. Above all, we must cultivate patience with every fiber of our being. We are engaged in a marathon, not a sprint.
May you find patience in your job search.