This article was written in partnership with Greg Friese at Everyday EMS Tips. Greg and I decided to both write on the topic, “You don’t have to settle.” You can find Greg’s contribution here. If you’re an EMS blogger we’d like to invite you to write your own post on this topic. Send me an e-mail an we’ll add your link as well.
What makes you afraid?
When we were kids we were afraid of things like the boogie man, monsters in our closets and thunder storms. As we become adults we got over most of those fears. We recognized them for the irrational and false beliefs that they were and we grow up. You might even say that letting go of these irrational fears is a part of becoming an adult.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that our fears went away. It also doesn’t mean that our big people, grown-up fears are any more rational than our childhood fears were. Just as certainly as kids will be afraid of thunder and dark closets at night, the grown-up boogie man is failure.
Adults fear failure. We take comfort in the security and predictability of success. As a result, we tend to look toward endeavors where success is a near certainty. Playing the game well within the boundaries of our ability is a great way of warding off the fear monster. We get to chose our goals and our challenges. Out on the outer edges of our abilities lies the dark closet where the possibility of failure lies in wait.
I know what you’re thinking. OK, now Steve is going to give us the old, “Let go of your fears and aim for high goals” speech. We’ll not quite. Yes, I think there’s great benefit in letting go of the fear of failure. But I’d like to go a step farther. I think that there is a much scarier boogie man than failure. I’d like to give you something even more worrisome to fear. A monster that is responsible for far more human grief, failed ambitions and shattered dreams than failure. If you’re going to walk around with a gut full of irrational fear, fear this:
Fear almost good enough.
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Yes, I’m talking about you.
We are talking about you being more satisfied with your work right? We’re talking about you being better at 
what you do and accomplishing more and getting more of the stuff you want and less of the stuff you don’t want in your career right?
Perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier. There is one little essential detail to the whole equation. You have to stop that annoying habit of whining about stuff. How do I know you’re a whiner? Because, for the most part, we’re all whiners. We all do it. Sure there are different degrees of whiners. Some folks are world class, champion whiners and some folks are merely amateur whiners who only dabble in the complaining arts on the side.
I’m looking out for you here when I say this, really. It’s time to stop. Why, you ask, should you give up your beloved complaining? Well, there are a whole bunch for reasons. Here’s the big one. You’re never going to reach your real potential as long as you’re stuck in the destructive habit of whining about stuff. It puts you in the totally wrong mindset.
Here are a few of the reasons you need to put a pacifier in it.
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Some of my favorite movies are sports movies. Movies like Bull Durham, The Natural, Hoosiers and Miracle. I love them. There is something about sports that encapsulates our human struggles like few other things do.
Sports can teach us a few lessons about being a good EMT as well. There are good ideas to be gleaned from successful athletes about running a scene and coordinating emergency care well. Here are my top five.
Have A Good Coach
Everyone needs a mentor. At least everyone who wants to be better at what they do needs one. Look around 
you for the EMT’s, paramedics, nurses and doctors who you respect. People who may have more experience and training in the field (but not necessarily). Find those people who you would like to be more like and talk with them. You’ll be surprised at how willing people are to offer advice and give input on subjects that can help you become a better clinician.
There is an old Buddhist proverb that says, “When the student is ready, the master appears.” There are people all around you that could be mentors and coaches. You’ll find them when you open yourself to the idea of using others to grow and improve yourself. And if you still feel starved for coaching you can always come here.
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I was searching around on Twitter today for tweets using the acronym “EMT”. I was struck by how many EMT students were discussing their current trials and tribulations with EMT class on twitter. EMT students talk with each other about EMT class differently than they talk to me about it. Perhaps because I’m the instructor they downplay how difficult the curriculum can be.
Maybe they don’t want to be honest and show vulnerability to me since I also evaluate them on test days. Or perhaps they don’t want to seem like the class is to much for them. I talk with students about my views on the current EMT curriculum. If it were up to me the class would be longer and more in depth. This could make them reluctant to admit when they are overwhelmed.
I know EMT class is hard. I watch my students struggle through it. I remember. Most EMT students have never been asked to absorb that volume of information in such a short time frame. Since I do quite a bit of tutoring for the class, I also get a lot of one-on-one time with the students who need extra help. Some will eventually pass. Some will fail and I’ll have to have a hard conversation with them about the future.
I’ve come to some conclusions about which students are more likely to pass and which will likely fail. Failure is predictable. Sometimes I’m wrong, but not often. When a student sits across the table from me and hears the hard news that they will not meet the standard to pass the class, I can usually point to one of four key areas where they failed.
If you are contemplating EMT class or if you are already going through an EMT program, here are four questions to ask yourself to help you predict you probability of success.
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