Permission to Thrive Chapter 7: Maintain Your Spiritual Mindset

NOTE: April has taken the time to compile her experiences and life lessons as a nephrology nurse and person on dialysis into a book that she shares with the renal community free of charge for download. She has given MEI permission to serialize the book once a month in KidneyViews—and we hope you will share the link with others who will benefit from her wisdom, compassion, and empowerment. A course and workbook are in progress as well, so watch for those!

Maintain your spiritual mindset. Maintaining a connection to your spiritual side is a great way to help you achieve peace of mind and cope with a rough patch in your life. Whether your spirituality is tied in with religion or self-help, you’ll likely be able to achieve inner peace and subsequently, weigh situations with the utmost clarity.

If you belong to a religious or spiritual community, seek out those who can listen without having sympathy but showing empathy. Prayer and developing a stronger relationship with God often is soothing in itself. I personally always find comfort in the scripture and knowing that God will not put more on us than we can bear. I believe that I have a higher calling on my life, and that belief alone keeps me in the correct mindset and able to cope effectively.

If you’re so inclined, constantly pray for strength to deal with challenging situations and the peace, to accept the outcome. Practice meditation. It will help reduce the stress, give you increased mental clarity about your challenges, and help bring you close to your spiritual side.