At the end of it all we should be able to say, WE DID EVERYTHING WE COULD!

Those who know me know that l love watching Grey’s Anatomy, there are seasons that l have even watched more than once. As we start a new year, please allow me to share something that really ministered to me as l was watching. Don’t worry, l am not about to go all medical on you. One of the most popular statements in the series is, “We did everything we could.” This is what the doctors say to a patient’s family before they deliver the devastating news of the passing on of the patient.

One of the scenes that captured my attention was when one of the attendings, Miranda bailey was talking to an intern and was asking the intern to do all tests and procedures that they thought might be able to save a patient on a death bed. Then Miranda asked, “George do you know why we are doing all this?” The intern replied, so that if the patient doesn’t make it when we go to their family, we can tell them that we did everything we could. This statement got me thinking about my own life and if at the end of each day, week, month, year, season, lifetime l can say l did all l could?

It’s a good day to save lives!!  – Is another popular utterance from the show. This is a perfect affirmation as we start a new year! It’s a good year to accomplish our goals, to be healthy, to work on our relationships, the list goes on and on. When you start each day, what do you see and what are you saying about the day, week, month and year?

I know you might be thinking, it is not every day that you feel inspired to make a difference or take a bold step in your life. I agree. However, l think regardless of how hopeless a situation might seem, positive affirmation at the beginning of every day, week, month and year is important. After affirming ourselves we should then take the important steps that cement our affirmations.

Take that difficult situation you have as a patient laying on the table, the life or death of it all depends on you. The first thing that doctors do before trying to save a patient is checking the pulse. If there is a pulse, they will go on to try and resuscitate the patient but if there is no pulse, they will call the time of death. This is also very important in our lives, before we try fight for that job, relationship or goal, we need to check if there is a pulse. Is there any sign of life in the thing you want to try and save? If not, don’t force it, call the time of death and move on. Start afresh and shift your focus on that which has a pulse in your life. Unfortunately, at times we are in denial that something we really want is gone and we find it hard to let go. Mourning when we lose something or someone we love is crucial, but we cannot mourn forever. Yes, give yourself time to grieve, then pick yourself up and refocus your energy.

When a patient’s heart stops, doctors will do all they can to save a patient. If there is an area in your life that feels like it is dying, all hope might not be lost. This is the time to do all you can! What we know as CPR is one of the procedures that doctors will perform in order to ensure that they have done all they can to save a patient. 

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) consists of the use of chest compressions and artificial ventilation to maintain circulatory flow and oxygenation during cardiac arrest, early appropriate resuscitation—including early defibrillation when needed—and appropriate implementation of post–cardiac arrest care lead to improved survival and neurologic outcomes. https://emedicine.medscape.com/

From the medical reference above, one of the key things is to start CPR early, this means early diagnosis is important. In the same way, in our lives, it is vital for us to detect when there is a problem that needs our attention, the earlier we identify a problem area the better chances of success. It is almost natural for us to ignore all warning signs. Ignoring a problem will not make it disappear, it is like ignoring a ticking time bomb that will explode eventually. Go for counseling, therapy, talk to a friend or if it’s your health, see your doctor and get checked.

I am sure we are all familiar with the process above. Defibrillation, which is when doctors shock the heart so that it resets. Likewise, there are areas in our lives that need a violent restart to keep them alive. At times we must make radical changes such as changing our career path, walking away from a toxic relationship, relocating, changing our diet or exercising as part of doing all that we could.

As we start this new year, l want to encourage you to check the pulse in every area of your life and decide whether it is worth saving. Once you decide to work on it, you have to put your all and not do it half-heartedly. Instead of saying, l could have done more, l could have poured out my heart, l could have spent more time with them, l could have started eating healthier, l could have put more effort, l could have been more innovative, etc. Be determined to do all you can before it’s too late.  You do not want to look at your life at the end of the day, week, month or even at the end of 2022 and be angry with yourself because you did not do all that you could.

Remember it is a good year to save every area of your life and at the end of 2022 you should be able to say I DID EVERYTHING I COULD and smile to see what you have accomplished. Happy New Year and May 2022 be your best year yet!!