and find yourself interesting ways to incorporate more movement into your daily life on an on-going basis. There is simply no getting away from the fact that exercise in its many shapes and forms is essential. Discover what makes your body sing. Is it walking, bike riding, hiking, swimming, yoga? And practice it on a daily basis.
* Make it a habit not to make work your life and ensure you have In our last article we discussed professional burnout -- the impression we left was I am sure, a little dismal. This article will explore strategies and solutions for addressing the burnout issue. What people forget (nurses included) is that nurses are people. People with the same emotions and needs as everyone else. What attracts many to nursing in the first place is a desire to help and assist others, a need to care. The issue is often this caring of others gets in the way of caring for ourselves. An essential key in addressing the burnout issue is the realization that self care will guard against professional burnout. It all starts (as does everything else) from a place of self care. There really is no secret to self care; in fact most nurses know all the self care habits and practices. Many assist others put self care practices in place. What we are advocating is that these very same self care practices need to be in place in all our lives as they form the very basis of looking after ourselves. These practices are both individual and institutionally based and include:

Individual self care * Learn to operate from a sense of personal power and control. You will never control what is done and said to you. You can however control how you respond to what life (and others) deal you.
* Learn to see the world in a positive way. How you perceive what happens in your world will very much determine how you feel. Make your feelings positive, happy and uplifting.
* Take care of the basics -- get plenty of restful sleep, great nutrition and find yourself interesting ways to incorporate more movement into your daily life on an on-going basis. There is simply no getting away from the fact that exercise in its many shapes and forms is essential. Discover what makes your body sing. Is it walking, bike riding, hiking, swimming, yoga? And practice it on a daily basis.
* Make it a habit not to make work your life and ensure you have r

ers, a need to care. The issue is often this caring of others gets in the way of caring for ourselves. An essential key in addressing the burnout issue is the realization that self care will guard against professional burnout. It all starts (as does everything else) from a place of self care. There really is no secret to self care; in fact most nurses know all the self care habits and practices. Many assist others put self care practices in place. What we are advocating is that these very same self care practices need to be in place in all our lives as they form the very basis of looking after ourselves. These practices are both individual and institutionally based and include:

Individual self care * Learn to operate from a sense of personal power and control. You will never control what is done and said to you. You can however control how you respond to what life (and others) deal you.
* Learn to see the world in a positive way. How you perceive what happens in your world will very much determine how you feel. Make your feelings positive, happy and uplifting.
* Take care of the basics -- get plenty of restful sleep, great nutrition and find yourself interesting ways to incorporate more movement into your daily life on an on-going basis. There is simply no getting away from the fact that exercise in its many shapes and forms is essential. Discover what makes your body sing. Is it walking, bike riding, hiking, swimming, yoga? And practice it on a daily basis.
* Make it a habit not to make work your life and ensure you have

actices. Many assist others put self care practices in place. What we are advocating is that these very same self care practices need to be in place in all our lives as they form the very basis of looking after ourselves. These practices are both individual and institutionally based and include:

Individual self care * Learn to operate from a sense of personal power and control. You will never control what is done and said to you. You can however control how you respond to what life (and others) deal you.
* Learn to see the world in a positive way. How you perceive what happens in your world will very much determine how you feel. Make your feelings positive, happy and uplifting.
* Take care of the basics -- get plenty of restful sleep, great nutrition and find yourself interesting ways to incorporate more movement into your daily life on an on-going basis. There is simply no getting away from the fact that exercise in its many shapes and forms is essential. Discover what makes your body sing. Is it walking, bike riding, hiking, swimming, yoga? And practice it on a daily basis.
* Make it a habit not to make work your life and ensure you have

ntrol. You will never control what is done and said to you. You can however control how you respond to what life (and others) deal you.
* Learn to see the world in a positive way. How you perceive what happens in your world will very much determine how you feel. Make your feelings positive, happy and uplifting.
* Take care of the basics -- get plenty of restful sleep, great nutrition and find yourself interesting ways to incorporate more movement into your daily life on an on-going basis. There is simply no getting away from the fact that exercise in its many shapes and forms is essential. Discover what makes your body sing. Is it walking, bike riding, hiking, swimming, yoga? And practice it on a daily basis.
* Make it a habit not to make work your life and ensure you have and find yourself interesting ways to incorporate more movement into your daily life on an on-going basis. There is simply no getting away from the fact that exercise in its many shapes and forms is essential. Discover what makes your body sing. Is it walking, bike riding, hiking, swimming, yoga? And practice it on a daily basis.
* Make it a habit not to make work your life and ensure you have regular breaks.
* Use the magic of humor to lighten your day.
* Set yourself realistic goals.
* Learn to recognize your body's tolerance to stress, prioritize and ditch the perfectionism.
* Set and maintain personal boundaries that respect your needs.
* Become the work colleague you would want for yourself and a great team player. Refrain from engaging in work gossip and stop contributing to toxic work environments. Remember it only takes one person doing something differently to make a difference.
* Take control of your career, develop a learning plan and skills portfolio and get yourself a mentor.
* Stop settling for second best where you are concerned.
* Examine the costs and benefits of not addressing burnout and let the outcome guide your actions.
* Check out that there is no component of depression in how you are feeling. If you are concerned talk to a trusted health professional and if required get the support you need. It may sound harsh but it all does start with the individual. On the other hand nurses need to know they have valuable knowledge and skills that can be taken eleswhere if organisations don't met their needs. Remember to reach out and ask for help and support if you think you need to.

Nursing leaders also have a responsibility to make a difference. This can be achieved by developing and sustaining supportive work environments, to work towards this goal includes:

* Ensuring education for nurses is not simply around practice issues but that self care strat