After practicing for almost 19 years I needed a change. A big one. I had started to get into a rut with my thinking. I was feeling consumed from all sides. I had lost all perspective. It was time to get some back. So my partner and I decided to sell everything we owned, buy a camper trailer and travel across the country for a while. A dramatic response? Certainly. Was it wonderfully relaxing? Not exactly…
Not being experienced campers, this ‘holiday’ was a challenge in itself. Not to mention going against the grain of the security and stability we had managed to establish in our lives. No, it wasn’t easy. As we were travelling, I was wondering when things were going to stop going ‘wrong’. You see, we had some equipment malfunctions and struggled to get a rhythm in what we were doing. Despite being a pretty well organised pair, we regularly couldn’t find things. Phone and internet ranges were sketchy, making communication difficult. And we were covered in dirt for the majority of the time.
‘When will there be some plain sailing?’ I asked myself.
But began to realise it was my own reactions that were causing the distress – my inability to adapt and work with the situation, the voice in my head forever critical. Then I wondered ‘What if that voice told me something different?’. Perhaps if I acknowledged I was out of my comfort zone as a way of becoming more supportive of me? What if, instead of focusing on what was wrong, I focused more on what good things were happening, what amazing people I was meeting, what stunning landscapes I was witnessing and what I was learning about myself again? From here things began to change…gradually. It took a conscious effort, mind. And still does. There were times I slipped, but my perspective on things definitely changed.
It’s the same with our practice.
The things we believe, the things we focus on and the way we respond become our reality. If we think we are a failure then right there, in that minute, we are. If we think we are committed and passionate about what we are doing then, right there in that moment, that is what our reality becomes.
So right now I challenge you…
…to look into the image you have of yourself as a practitioner. What are the amazing things you bring to the table? How much passion do you have for your modality? How much relief do you bring to the people you help? Refocus your attention to the things that really matter. Leave your lack of confidence and your self-deprecation out of it. They neither serve you or your clients. Dare to be all that you can.
Author: Jeff Shearer is a Chinese medicine practitioner and trainer of practitioners to help them create success with integrity.
