As a caregiver, your senior's well-being depends on the quality of decisions that you make for them.
You and your family need to be able to make proper decisions, or your senior's well-being will be greatly affected.
You need to know the exact needs of your senior, and correctly navigate how you can help them, because if you do not, your family will be dealing with the repercussions of your incorrect decisions.
And if your plans, ideas, and decisions are all based off of your emotions or impulse, there is certainly going to be some negative feedback that will occur as a result of it.
So how do you make decisions that will always work in your favour, and no matter what, will leave you fulfilled and satisfied, and your senior cared for?
Operate from principles. Lead your life with unshakable truths that will guide your every move, and ultimately have you make decisions that are best for you and your family.
Below we will dive into what principles are, and what are some good principles in regards to senior well-being.
According to Ray Dalio, hedge-fund manager, philantropist, and author of New York Times Best Selling book Principles , a "principle is a fundamental truth that serves as the behavior that gets you what you want out of life".
Let's take that definition and break it down to see exactly what it means.
"A Principle is a
1) fundamental truth that
2) serves as the behavior that
3) gets you what you want out of life".
1) Fundamental Truth - [Beliefs]
A fundamdental truth is an indisputable fact on how reality works. This means that there are basic ways on how the world functions, and following and adhering to these facts will allow your to operate properly in the world.
An example of a fundamental truth is that "there is a force that attracts a body towards the center of the earth, or toward any other physical body having mass". This fundemental truth is also known as gravity.
If someone knows this truth it is first in their awareness. Then when they understand this truth, a person comprehends it and can see how or why it is important. When a person believes a truth, they allow it to completely engulf them, and allow it to be expressed in through their personal experience.
Believing fundamental truths is what determines the next step; our behaviours.
2) Serves as the Behaviour - [Actions]
Humans take actions, and it is impossible for a human not to be taking some sort of action (even sitting and doing nothing is still sitting and doing nothing)
Understand this - that humans are continually behaving based on predetermined values.
Uncovering, knowing, and deciding on what you value, is EXTREMELEY important, because these values are what shape the stories, perceptions, ideas that we have, and the actions and behaviours that we display.
We are humans who will continually act on what we believe will bring us the most value.
3) Gets you what you want - [Outcome]
This is your result.
Your results will always reflect your true beliefs. If you care for another person, you would see a hand written note placed in their lunch box, or a pile of freshly washed dishes in the sink.
Because saying "I love you" is completely different then showing it.
A great way to know exactly what you value, and what principles you operate by, is to see the CURRENT results you have in your life.
The reason why you have a balanced bank account, a cared, for senior, or a messy storage room, or a great family dynamic is all based on your principles and values that you adhere to.
Take a close look at your results in your life. If you are not completely satisfied with your outcomes, it might be a good time to reflect on principles that will move you towards the outcomes you would like.
Now with having a great understanding of what principles are and how they affect the results you have in your life, here are a list of principles that we believe are crucial to senior well-being success.
Remember that no matter what, your senior is a human.
It is so easy to get bogged down with the details of caring, that you can forget that you care taking care of another person.
Especially when it comes to caring for a loved one, day-to-day tasks become routine, and we forget the purpose, and the person we are helping.
Remember to always keep the human first.
It is in everyone's nature to seek safety, as we are not able to properly function if we do not have a sense of certainty in our safety.
Providing safety comes in many forms, and you have the ability to provide that sense of safety to your senior.
Some ways to provide safety is by
Safety is a fundamental need of a human, and being able to provide this is crucial for the success of senior well-being.
Nothing is builds relationships better than having a conversation with someone, and having the feeling that your needs have been heard out.
Communication with everyone involved with your senior care is crucial to your success.
Properly communicating with your family members involved in the process, your health care providers that can assist you with care, and speaking with your senior is beneficial to your senior well-being success.
Open communication is a dominant factor in the success of senior-care done well.
Your success also depends on how well you can work with others to help your senior in need.
You can collaborate with your family, and find new ways that each of you can bring something new to the table of care.
You can find new health partners that can help support you and your family during these times.
You do not have to take care of your loved ones alone. Asking for help can be one of your biggest strengths if you allow it to be.
Lots of people get stuck in the trap of just doing, doing, doing without any real results occurring.
This is "Activity Based Actions" which simply mean people do things just for the sake of doing things.
When you have Outcome based Actions, these are actions one takes to create an outcome.
For example, an activity based action is going to your senior's home because you "have to", resulting in a "box checked".
An outcome based action is going to your senior's home because you want to, and by doing so, ask genuine questions to understand their needs.
Activity based actions tend to leave caregivers apathetic, and resentful.
Outcome based actions leave caregivers feeling fulfilled and grateful.
This means that care is done correctly, and ties very closely with the 5th principle of Outcomes vs. Activity.
It is important to complete care to the best of your ability.
With seniors being humans who also deserve care, it is important to care for them completely and take the necessary steps to ensure that all neccessary care is completed.
This is relation to quality to the quality of care that you provide for your senior.
Personally, we believe that having 1 good thing, is better than having 10 mediocre things.
Or having 1 great friend is better than having 10 acquaintances.
Being able to provide quality care, and provide quality resources for your loved ones is important.
If you decide to provide quality into your senior's life, we are certain you will see an increase in their well-being.
There are benefits to having other people involved in the caring process.
Visibility is one of the biggest factors for driving outcomes and having a level of accountability will bring large benefits to your senior.
This is a great tool to use when speaking with family members, as well as health care partners that you decide to bring on to care for your senior.
Accountability allows for greatest levels of care, as well as increased feelings of connection and trust among you and your care partners.
Vocational (or mission) development, for a senior is a very interesting and often neglected portion of care giving.
We believe that seniors still have a mission on this earth, and that in some way shape or form, they are called to provide a level of insight and growth to others (both the younger and older generations)
Being able to tap into their mission, and providing them avenues to express that mission will DRAMATICALLY increase their well-being, and it will simplify your caring.
Tied in with Principle 9, personal growth is the innate desire to continually learn, experience, and grow into higher versions of ourselves.
This is a paradigm shift of seeing seniors as "people who we need to care for" to "these are humans that have experience and knowledge that we can utilize to help humanity as a whole"
The more that caregivers and seniors decide to move along this path of personal growth, the happier lives that seniors live, and the more that our planet can benefit from the wisest portion of our population.
This is a cornerstone for senior well-being, and without health and vitality, senior well-being has a difficult chance of coming to fruition.
A seniors body and mind functions at its peak level when they are fulfilled, have genuine connection with others, and when they are pursuing something meaningful in their lives.
As a caregiver, it is important to look into ways to increase your seniors health and vitality by providing healthy and whole foods, proper nutrition and supplementation, as well as exercises that suit their capabilities.
There is no end date to senior well-being.
There are always ways to learn more, be more, and give more.
A continual commitment to growth is what gives life meaning, and it's the way that humans are happiest and most fulfilled.
If you can find ways to continually help and support your senior, we guarantee that you will feel a sense of fulfillment that no other en devour can provide.
We follow these exact 12 principles that have been laid out here.
We genuinely believe that these are the foundational beliefs that create senior well-being.
Take a look at our methodology, and how our principles act as our guide to helping seniors in the Greater Toronto Area.
If you would like to speak to someone on how to implement certain types of principles into your senior care plan, feel free to reach out and bounce your ideas off of one of our professionals.
Michael Walecki is the Communication Specialist at Excel Care Nursing Services. When he’s not serving clients, he's either reading books or cycling on some backroad in Milton or Caledon. He calls
Mississauga, Ontario home.
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