Healthcare Design - October 2014 - 18

C THE CENTER | 10.14
Life lessons ... so far
A 25-year career at The Center for Health Design yields 25 lessons
By Debra Levin
We all have milestones that mark major events in
our lives and stay as clear in our memories as if they
happened yesterday. I still remember every one of my
graduations, from elementary through grad school; my
bat mitzvah; my first night in the first home I bought;
and the first time I walked through the door of my first
professional job-a job I still have today.
This month marks my 25th anniversary at The
Center for Health Design and in this industry. My plan
never was to create a career out of this work. I made
only an eight-week commitment when I started, but by
the time I finished the eight weeks, I realized I'd found a
new home that fit just right.
This 25-year mark seems like a good time to share
some of the lessons I've learned. So here they are, 25
lessons from 25 years, in no specific order.
Find your passion. It's the key to staying motivated
and productive. It keeps you going when times are
challenging and is a crucial driver to success.
Have a meaningful purpose. Know why you're
getting up every morning, and if it's just for a paycheck,
re-evaluate and find a more meaningful purpose.
Make people your first priority. The relationships
you cultivate and feed are your personal and professional lifeblood.
Cultivate happiness. If you aren't happy, do what
you need to do to get there. Don't expect to be happy
always, but life is too short to be unhappy for too long.
Accept disappointment with grace. It's usually
only temporary, anyway. I have a piece of art framed
on my nightstand that reads, "It takes both rain and
sunshine to make a rainbow." So true.
Aim for but don't demand perfection. Either for
yourself or the people around you; you're more likely to
reach perfection with a soft approach.
Don't dwell. When you fail royally-and you will-
learn and move on quickly.
Invest in the people who report to you. Whether
they stay with you a year or a career, their success and
happiness is a gift that never stops giving.
Blend your life. There shouldn't be hard divisions
between work and play. It's a huge stress reliever to
not always have to fit work into "work time" and play
into "play time," but to let life organically unfold.
Take time to reflect. Go on a vacation alone,
even if it's just for overnight or a weekend. Slow down
enough to check in and make sure you're on the road
you want to be on and not just the road that happened
by default.
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Create your own personal advisory council.
Find 5-8 people whom you admire for different reasons
and keep them close. Stay in touch by phone or meet
in person every few months to hear what they're up to
and share your life. Their advice and those relationships
over the years will be invaluable.
Surround yourself with people smarter than you.
Learn from them; don't be threatened by them.
Put family first. Don't miss too many of their life moments, big and small. Work will always be there.
Be kind. It's really easy, and it just makes you a happier
person.
Be grateful. I believe gratitude is the single most important
ingredient for happiness and a deep sense of contentment.
People will do strange and unexplainable things.
People are sometimes odd. If somebody does something
hurtful to you, it's not personal and it's not meaningful; it just is.
Trust the process. If you did your homework, then
trust the process you put in place and know there will be
ups and downs until you reach the end.
Difficult experiences can provide direction. You
can learn a lot from very bad situations. Sometimes
they're great roadmaps of what not to do in life.
Be a flexible leader. There's no one right way to manage that brings out everyone's best.
Trust your gut. Your intuition is the closest you'll get to
having a life rulebook.
Become agile. The industry will evolve and change
over time, often quickly. Being able to look ahead while
remaining focused is important.
Be a bridge builder and a connector. Making a
match is a mitzvah (a charitable act).
Practice the golden rule. At the end of the day, you
sleep with yourself at night. Be the person you'd like to
wake up next to every morning.
Get enough sleep. Easier said than done, but more and
more studies are showing how important sleep is
for good health, plus it's hard to be your best self if
you're always on the edge of exhaustion.
Life is best lived with your head in the
clouds and your feet on the ground. Cheesy
but true. Life would be very austere without time
to think big thoughts, but you'll get nowhere if you
can't put them into action. HCD
Debra Levin is president and CEO of The Center
for Health Design. She can be reached at dlevin@
healthdesign.org.

Debra Levin

http://www.HCDmagazine.com

Healthcare Design - October 2014

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