Blog
This week has been an interesting one as I had my long awaited Cataract operation, then an important keynote talk to a business group in Mansfield, followed by a new Mental Resilience and Advanced Communications workshop to a large client in Nottingham with offices nationwide.
I booked the Cataract operation on the NHS for Monday knowing that I had to deliver the keynote on Thursday morning and the workshop on Friday without really knowing what I would feel like. But having spoken to my brother Richard regarding the impact of the operation, I was quite positive that I would be ok.
My wife Julie took me in at 7am on Monday and after a short wait I was taken into the room to see the doctor and was given all the details with a big arrow drawn on my forehead pointing to the eye to be operated on. Then I was ushered back to the waiting room and was told it would be an hour to an hour and a half before I would be taken in for the operation.
The importance of health and positivity
As a matter of interest when they took my blood pressure and pulse they found it to be extremely good around 117 over 70 with a pulse rate of 59. This interested me as it was then that I realised just how relaxed I felt without a care in the world laughing and joking with Julie. This made me realise just how ingrained my positive thinking has become, working in the background of my subconscious.
With the long wait in mind I asked a male nurse called Steve where the nearest café was so that I could get Julie and myself a cuppa. He explained that it was a long walk away and asked if we would like him to make us a cuppa. We were more than happy with this offer and so he went away to get a bit of paper to write the order down.
The small things make a big difference
There was another couple in the waiting room and he took their order too. He was back very quickly with a perfect cup of tea for me and a coffee for Julie. This amazed me as this was the first time I have ever been to any hospital where someone had offered to make me a cup of tea and it made me very happy.
I am still talking about this incident to people I meet as it blew me away yet is was such a simple act of care. It didn’t take him long and it was a quiet part of the day but nevertheless he could have just not bothered. Because he did bother, he made four people who would have been nervous, a little more relaxed. He would have felt good too because one of the best ways to happiness is to help others.
Amazing operation
To my surprise they called me in early and I was the first on the list. I had a complication with my cataract operation because there was something not quite right with my cornea and they explained that I may need a second more serious operation under general anaesthetic if this first one failed. So the anaesthetist injected just under the eyeball to put my eye to sleep and I was wheeled into the theatre.
The operation itself took around 45 minutes and as I watched them work it made me realise how blessed we are to have such advances in surgery. They used a laser to seal the cuts made in the eye and in the blink of an eye it was over. Julie drove me home and I rested for the day and started as normal the following day. I have to wear a patch over the eye for a week at night to avoid me touching the eye in my sleep.
I can see clearly now
The difference I have experienced is nothing short of amazing. I can now see distances so don’t need to wear glasses to drive etc. I can now also read much better as my reading glasses used to be 4.0 and I am now using 1.5 – what a result. This is so important for the work I do in particular running workshops.
Before this operation I didn’t have any glasses which allowed me to read my notes and see the name cards of the delegates at the same time. So I would be constantly changing glasses. It got so silly that just before this operation I had 4 (yes 4) different strength reading glasses. I needed one pair for driving, another for using my laptop, another for normal reading and a final stronger pair for reading newspapers and menus in darker surroundings.
Two pairs were exactly the same design so I couldn’t tell which was which and this made for more fun and games. I now only need one pair of reading glasses which are 1.5 strength. When I delivered the workshop on Friday it was such a joy to be able to see all the name cards very clearly without any glasses on.
The book is having a positive impact
At the Mansfield 2020 keynote talk which was a great experience, I sold 25 books which I duly signed and I have 16 contacts to follow up. It was a great event with great business people attending. My book is receiving 5 star reviews from people who have read it and this gives me great joy as the book is helping people when I am not there. These reviews can be viewed here:
Special offer
I am offering an early Christmas present if you fancy buying a book for yourself or for someone you know who needs some confidence and techniques to overcome stress. If you go to my website and enter code free15 when prompted I will pay for the postage and packing for you. The book link is on my homepage below:
www.jdmindcoach.co.uk
Tips for the week:
The quickest way to happiness is to help someone in need
It’s often the small things which make the biggest difference
Visualise the outcome you want for any situations in your life before they happen
I visualised a good outcome to the operation and saw myself speaking well on stage after the operation – do the same for things in your life
See what small things you can do that make a big difference to people
Well that’s it for this week and I look forward to sharing more updates and tips next weekend.
Have a great week ahead and choose to stay positive.
Warm regards
John
