“You should celebrate
each day that you’re able to leave a lasting effect. It means that even as you
get older, the universe will someday be a little bit better because you’ve
lived in it.”- Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and host of TV’s “Cosmos”
When my father was in the hospital at New Hanover
Regional in Wilmington NC recently, I had the opportunity to walk around the
hospital campus and visit two of their specialty hospitals: The Oaks and The Coastal Rehabilitation
Hospital. My visit to those two
facilities was not just idle wandering but personal reflection: You see, I opened The Oaks psychiatric
hospital in 1987 and was their Administrator for 8 years. I helped design and build The Coastal
Rehabilitation Hospital which opened in 1995.
Both hospitals are still going strong, regional referral centers for
psychiatry and for physical rehabilitation & stroke care…much has changed,
but the foundation we established way back then still thrives. And the
funniest thing was as I walked the halls, everyone said “Hi, Bob!” as if I’d
never left…although I hadn’t been on campus since 1998.
This is the one of the greatest
rewards of doing what I do: To see that,
in some small way, I was able to have a lasting effect, that patients in
coastal N.C. could enjoy quality behavioral health and physical rehab because
of actions we took over 20 years ago.
And YOU have that same opportunity, don’t you? The opportunity every day, every patient,
every encounter, every activity to have a
life-changing impact on someone’s life.
Don’t take that opportunity lightly:
“…the universe will someday be a little bit better
because you’ve lived in it.” So ask
yourself:
·
What
legacy do you hope to leave behind? Are you doing what it takes today to ensure
this is how you will be remembered?
·
Who
are some of the individuals that have made a better world for you? How did the
way they lived their lives make a difference in your own?
·
How
can you personally thank those who have impacted you directly?
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