I while ago I studied phlebotomy. During one class I was taking blood from the hand of a female classmate when suddenly, blood sprouted from her hand like a water fountain. Caught of guard, I froze. I wore gloves, but for some reason, I still backed away without taking the needle from her hand. I guess I still had some fear about getting blood on myself.

At that moment I thought I would never be able to draw blood from another person. That night I got little sleep as I thought about the incident and having to go back to class the next day. How would I face that girl, my partner in the class, again? What if she sprouts blood again? Fear gripped me as I thought about so many things.

That morning I had a hard time eating breakfast. On the way to class, I said a quick prayer. When I got there I was nervous, but not enough so to keep me from performing. I stood in front of my partner, took her arm and placed a needle in her vein and drew blood like I never had a fear.

If you have had a scare while performing on your job, think about what happened. Let it sink in but don’t let it scare you. Let it teach you how to not be afraid.

Cedric