Do you know what the term, “jumping the gun”, means? It means, anticipating something is going to happen before it actually does happen. My thoughts include another definition – one word – impatience.
The stinky part of this action is the negative results that can come into play. For instance, I am a nurse contracted to work in several hospitals in my area. Not just a nurse taking care of patients, but also a charge nurse on some days.
Part of my duties as the Charge Nurse is to ensure staffing is adequate for our patient care load for 4 different hospitals. In my line of work, things are ever changing, not just day to day, sometimes minute by minute.
Another part of the challenge is to determine the actions of another person. Well how many of you know that isn’t really possible in most circumstances, because “hey!” other people don’t think like you do.
More times than I care to count, I have reacted, instead of waiting, only to find out that I should have paused for a bit. Too late! I have already sent out my message and BAM! Not five minutes later, my plan has to change because something altered the current course of action.
If only I had waited for 10 minutes before reacting, I could have responded with a more appropriate plan.
I bet you’re thinking, right now, about a particular situation where you jumped the gun! Tell me about it and let me know that I’m not the only one.