OK, so I know that you follow this blog expecting most of the time to get great information about how to get clients and grow your private practice. However, it’s important that you also remember that in addition to information you also need inspiration as well as great self care. I’m not sure exactly where this YouTube video falls on that continuum but it’s not likely to be down at the information end.
However, I saw this video today and thought “My readers just might love this because . . . !” Have a look and let me know if I’m right:)
I saw this video and my fantasy went like this . . . . How fun to be in the middle of a REALLY boring meeting that was be micromanaged by whomever and then . . . have the WHOLE GROUP break out in THIS! Heh-heh–heh . . . .
OK, so that isn’t your style? So how about using this as a reminder to not take yourself too seriously and remember to take a few breaks during your day. Building a private practice is hard work. A little laughter and a little self care goes a long way!
Hi Tamara – thank you for sharing this. You are right on the button; I often get stuck in the “mud” of building a private practice and can lose sight of what is truly meaningful about it. Giving myself plenty of self-care is very important (sometimes neglected); being rested and rejuvenated will in turn help me show up as the best version of myself as I can be with my clients. This is something I need to be reminded of every day!
Kate Daigle, MA, NCC
Hi, Kate! It’s good to hear from you! It’s really way too easy, isn’t it, to focus on that seemingly never-ending to-do list and forget about ourselves all together?! When I first started out in private practice, I remember starting at 8 a.m. seeing clients and when I finished with them, I would transition to working on the practice. At 2 a.m., I could easily still be completing correspondence related to growing my practice, creating new tools / systems to streamline my practice, or be brainstorming new projects for my practice. That’s not how we maintain strong practices . . . nor is that lopsided schedule necessary to build a strong practice. I know now that it was only my fear that the phone wasn’t going to ring, the clients weren’t going to come, and the bills weren’t going to get paid that kept me on that hamster wheel.
That was over 20 years ago. Under stress, admittedly, that Protestant work ethic that I was raised under, can still be my default mode. The difference now is that I recognize it and I stop it. I deserve balance. My clients deserve a therapist that is balanced. And, you deserve to have a full and balanced life, too, Kate! Let me know if you need an occasional reminder!:)
Thank you so much for your pearls of wisdom 🙂
Welcome back, Kate! So glad you like the pearls! Hope you’ll tell others about our online community here!
Love it! Thanks for sharing – you’re right. There is a time for everything – sometimes a time to stop and just enjoy what gifts life has given. A time to work hard. A time to relax. And today, a time to appreciate my connections with Tamara – Thank you!
Hi, Vivian! Thanks for dropping in today to chat! Love hearing from counselors in Maryland! It’s one of those states that I have yet to visit so I feel like when you drop in, I have one more reason to get there! Happy to remind you again and again that you have all the time you need to work hard, to relax, and to say “thank you,” too.
Blessings to you on your journey and I hope to hear from you again, soon!
Thank you. LOL and smiles.
This video really does make you smile, doesn’t it? Have a great day!
And to think I’ve been doing boring stuff inbetween sessions like sweeping out negative energy !!! I gotta get me one of those suits and start dancin!
Thx,
Jim
Ahahaha, Jim! I wonder if they have one of those suits in plus size for me, too?
Thanks for the smile. We do need to remember to take time to relax and smile during the day. (It seemed a little like “Rocky Horror” meets the cup game at camp. )
Ooooh! Gotta love Rocky Horror! Heheheheh!
How fun Tamara. You are so right about self care. We all need to practice what we so often preach. I particularly enjoy working with women’s issues and the most common theme among them is that they do not take the time to take care of themselves. The analogy I use is that of when flight attendants on an airplane explain that if cabin pressure should be lost oxygen masks will descend from the ceiling and if you are traveling with a young child or elderly or disabled person ALWAYS put your own mask on first and then assist whomever is traveling with you. If you don’t take care of yourself you will burn out eventually and not be able to take care of anyone else. Truer words have never been spoken and yet are so easily forgotten especially for those of us in the helping professions. Thanks for reminding us!
Barbara, love the analogy of the airline’s oxygen mask. I don’t know about you but when I think of the women that I most admire . . . . I don’t think of women who are driven to being frazzled and unfocused, panicked and scared with too little wiggle room and no sense of humor . . . . I think, instead, of women who are calm and focused, even-keeled and in control – not in control of other people but just comfortably in control of themselves. That’s not me when I’ve over-committed . . . when I’m all work and no play . . . when I’ve failed to take care of my physical / emotional / spiritual needs . . . . When I overlook me . . . I really think that both me and my clients pay the price.