The Broncos defeated the Patriots. People cheer with joy, and the victory celebrated. The winner of the competition raises the trophy, and the fans savor the win. In life, the word defeated can take on a much different meaning. Life can be a place where there are no competitors, no teams.

How often have I felt I am in a funk? Things feel off for no apparent reason. Are their periods during life where we feel lost without understanding why? The word defeated sometimes play a role. It is an emotion word in this context. It is a feeling challenging to address. How often do we embrace the thoughts of being a failure without examining where we were defeated? Do we allow ourselves to examine "were we indeed defeated and by what? Feelings of such are deeply personal.

Over the last couple of years, I have been feeling lost. I awoke last week with the vivid dream I was having that morning. It was of a patient pulling me close to their face and directly stating "you never forgot about me." I laid in bed evaluating the profound statement. It was the first time I was able to identify the feelings of being defeated. How easy is it to feel frustrated and not even acknowledge the root cause. How often can this feeling slip into life? I awoke feeling "defeated." The cool thing about identifying this was the following feeling of relief. My goal as a nurse was always to place the patient first. Every decision and every action must center around the welfare of the patient. I had never lost sight of this goal during my career. I was never perfect with my mission, but never lost sight of my purpose. I cried with a different understanding of why I had felt lost. It became a key to unlock many doors.

I have been able to identify areas of my life where defeated comes to play. Feelings of being defeated are ugly yet when identified can be very freeing in the game called life. A new outlook and strategy can derive. It reveals the very core of our existence. Sometimes we must remind ourselves one picture does not tell the whole story.

Be brave and fierce but always remain humble.

nan