Doing the Simple Things

My teenaged boys give me endless material to reflect on and to use as "opportunities for growth". ;-) My 15 year old has been laboring in a really tough stretch over the last year or so - characterized by the usual me-centric worldview and obstinence to change. Now, I know that he will eventually grow out of these things (or I certainly am hopeful that he will) and that they will morph into more socially acceptable behaviors - but they really make for a difficult environment in the short term! Thank goodness that my wife and I have surrounded ourselves with a loving and compassionate faith community and a large number of committed friends (and a growing number of therapists). Many of those persons have walked this parenting path and can give solace and a listening ear to us as we try to wend our way through the dark valley. My spiritual director also lends her sacred listening ear to the mix to continue to help point me to where G-d is in all of this - truly a wonderful addition to the mix. Just last week, a new therapist looked at my son and told him that in order to get where he said he wanted to be (out of trouble, return of privileges, a measure of independence) he needed to start doing the simple things. Success with simple things, she advised, will lead to good feelings and thus open the door to larger successes. Since last Tuesday, I've reminded him often of these words when simple things are left undone (cleaning up after himself, etc). While I found her words helpful in our world, they have also resonated with me on the larger issues that I contend with professionally (trying to mend the broken healthcare system). What are the simple things that I can promote that will lead to larger system change? These are well known and are do-able at the personal level. They all have to do with personal accountability and they lead to larger societal accountability and change. None of them are difficult, but they do require action to overcome the inertia that has become rampant in our culture. That's where programs like "Small Steps" (see: www.smallsteps.gov) come in. These programs empower people who wish to do something healthy but don't know how to start - to get started doing something. Take care of the simple things, build committment with success and larger successes will follow. In healthcare, simple things that pay dividends like listening to patients; double checking each other; having up-to-date, patient-specific information available when prescriber-patient interactions occur; active listening; developing relationships. With these behaviors practiced in each and every interaction, quality and safety improve and people become healthier. It's really not "rocket science" it really is simple common sense and compassionate caring. Once again we find the truth in the statement "all I really needed to know I learned in Kindergarten." This week,implement at least one simple change in your health routine that you can commit to continue. Each week this year, add another or move up the complexity of the action. By December 31, 2012 (or the end of the world on December 21) you'll be amazed at the difference that simplicity can provide. Peace for the journey, Dan