Hi. I’m Kathy Smith and I’m a personal development writer. I have been a registered nurse for 30 years.
I first realized I was interested in Psychology when I did my psych rotation during nursing school. I honestly believed my years of riding Seattle busses through downtown on my way to and from high school had somehow prepared me for the population I was about to face. I was elated to land my first psych nursing job. I wanted it so bad, I was willing to work the night shift. This went well until I started to feel incomplete, I was a nurse who barely used her “nursing skills”. I applied for and accepted a job on a busy Rehab unit. I enjoyed this job for over 14 years before suffering from burnout. Suddenly going to work was a major chore. I fantasized about quitting—just walking out one day and not coming back. The only problem was, I had a mortgage and bills to pay. As a compromise, I decided to only work 50%. This partially worked, I loved the freedom but using my savings to supplement my income freaked me out. After about a year, I knew I needed to work more hours. Realizing I didn’t want to work additional hours on rehab, I made an arrangement to pick up extra hours on the psych unit. When a position opened up , I applied and have been there ever since.
Ever since I discovered the Self Help section in the bookstore, it has been my favorite section—which is saying something since I LOVE fiction. My bookshelves are full of books “too valuable to give away.” I’ve been called an information junkie and I accept that. I do a lot of reading. I have read about how I can increase my self esteem and have more self confidence, how to better get along with others and reduce my stress. I’ve had fun learning new skills, such as writing affirmations, practicing creative visualization (my favorite) and doing EFT, also known as tapping, to name a few.
I write about personal development because it gives me an excuse to study more. I write about it because it gives me a chance to share what I’ve learned. I also find that people interested in personal development for themselves or others, tend to be nicer. I like nice people. Because of my personal development, I am a better clinician. Because of what I do at work, I am better at communicating and interacting with family, friends, neighbors, that customer service person on the phone who does not understand what I need…….
If you’d like to learn how to best deal with the gossipy lady at church, the person who always makes you feel guilty, the husband who won’t talk, difficult co workers, stress eating….the list is endless— this is the place for you. Personal development is a vast area and tends to make people feel better about themselves. I don’t claim to know it all but I do claim to have an open mind and the willingness to put forth my best effort in all I present while providing information and practical applications to help you interact better with others while achieving your best self.
