Nursing Student Meditation Analysis

As a new nursing student, I have realized my greatest challenge lies within my internal dialogue. I frequently wonder if I have the strength and ability to be a successful nurse. Nursing is an incredibly rewarding profession but requires a great amount of resilience and self-care in order to sustain a healthy life. This includes being able to maintain a higher level of positive thinking. During my first quarter, I have already experienced self-doubting thoughts about my academic abilities that often lead me to feel unfocused and afraid for my future as a nursing student. As a result, I am have created a plan using S.M.A.R.T (specific, measureable, achievable, relative, and time bound) goals in order to incorporate meditation and positive affirmation
I will begin practicing meditation five minutes every day. On November 15, 2015, I will have increased this time to ten minutes every day. However, my ultimate goal is to have reached twenty minutes of meditation ever day by December 15, 2015. Each meditation session will begin with the meditation steps outlined in Lucia Thornton’s “Basic Steps of Meditation” (2007). My purpose in learning to meditate is to achieve a state of mindfulness, which will enable me to focus and be aware of my thoughts and feelings throughout each day. Overall, I believe that successful meditation practices can aid in reducing stress and help me focus on something other than the chaos I may be experiencing in nursing
These affirmations will include phrases like “I am good enough, I get better every day, and I am intelligent and successful.” Each day I will endeavor to identify and replace negative thoughts with positive loving affirmations. I will start by reciting five simple affirmations daily until November 15, 2015. By December 15, 2015, I will have started reciting affirmations that are more complex such as “I have an unending desire to be better and make myself a better person.” Incorporating positive affirmations into my daily routine will help me become more self-confident. It will also help me identify negative judgments I have throughout the day and hopefully lead to the redirecting of undesirable thoughts of self.
Conclusion
Given that meditation and positive affirmations improve an individual’s mental well-being and overall health, I have decided to utilize the “Advanced Stop Technique” and “Basic Steps of Meditation.” As a new nursing student, I believe it is important that I begin my career with the best mindset possible, not only for my own mental health, but for the benefit of my future