Global Health

How to Keep Your Cool During a Hot Emotional Time

I’ve always been wary of confrontations, shunning them at times I like to blame it on my astrological sign, Libra Ruled by Venus, the goddess of love, Libras search for peace and harmony, working hard to balance any oppositional forces

But in truth, I think it’s more than that Whenever I have to face a difficult situation with another person, there’s a part of me that fears getting tongue-tied or of things escalating so out of control that in the end there’s a bigger problem than I started with, rather than a resolution or any valuable forward motion

Yet, the reality is that you can’t always run from conflict In my own tireless quest for peace, there’s also that nagging need to have an oft-times spontaneous conversation to “make things right” or to “have a talk,” “straighten things out,” “get something off my chest” or “clear the air”

There’s a “right” way and a “wrong” way to handle a confrontation, I’ve learned by reading , the book I mentioned in my last post To start with, rather than call it a “confrontation,” the authors refer to talking to coworkers, friends, neighbors or family members as an “interview” And, just as you’d prepare for a job interview you would, wouldn’t you?, you can prepare—in fact, you must prepare—for this type of interview There goes spontaneity But there is a time and place for it, and this is it

So let’s throw out the word confrontation for now: it’s just too emotionally laden and filled with finger-pointing and bad endings

Preparation involves doing some homework According to the books’ authors, Mary Ellen O’Toole, PhD, and Alisa Bowman, here are some things you need to do before you ever ask a question:

• Set some goals Think about what you want to accomplish during the interview What do you want to find out? Kee

Get more…

Tags: Time

Would doc pay for your time?

Dr. Timothy Malia of Fairport, New York, gives his patients $5 if they wait longer than 15 minutes for their appointments.

“I decided to bill the doctor,” she says. “If you waste my time, you’ve bought my time.”

When Farstad returned home, she figured out her hourly wage working as an IT specialist at Boeing in Everett, Washington. She doubled it for the two hours she’d spent in the waiting room, and mailed the invoice to her doctor.

“It’s ludicrous — why would I wait for free?” says Farstad, who is now an engineering graduate student at North Carolina State University. “Like we all learned in kindergarten, it’s about respecting each other.”

In years gone by, doctors would likely have scoffed at the suggestion they reimburse patients for time spent waiting.

Get more…

Tags: Time