Professional
- and personal! -
Philosophies
To help you learn a little more about me, I’d like to share some of the phrases that I use to not only guide my practice but also guide me in my life!
“I’ll never get there…”
“It’s taking so long.”
“They can do it, why can’t I?”
“Every step forward is a step forward, no matter how ‘small’ it seems.”
Too often, we beat ourselves up for not being at X destination at Y time. Usually, our expectations for our growth are unrealistic, and we set ourselves up for failure with this kind of thinking. But, every step forward is a step forward, and I believe in celebrating those steps.
“I’m so stupid!”
“I’m a failure…”
“I can’t believe I did that…”
“Mistakes are a chance to grow.”
We are all only human, and we all make mistakes. We have a choice on how to view our mistakes, however. I choose to see mistakes as both a frustrating part of life as well as a chance to learn and grow. Mistakes can tell us the direction that we’ve been going is not the right way, and they can help us figure out how to take new steps in the right direction…or at least a different one!
“Almost everything in life is a choice…if you’re willing to accept the consequences of that choice.”
There’s a bit of backstory to this philosophy that will also help to explain it. During my graduate field experience before I got my Master’s Degree, Jim, my supervisor, had asked me something along the lines of “Do you have to pay your electric bill?”
I was rather surprised by this question, responding, “…well…yeah.”
He simply and politely disagreed with me. “No you don’t.”
Now I was confused. “What do you mean? Of course you have to pay your electric bill.”
“What happens if you don’t pay it?” Jim asked me.
“Well, I’d lose my electric, my games, my computer, my fridge, my AIR CONDITIONING. Everything!”
“Are you willing to accept those consequences?” he asked.
“No. Not at all.” I still hadn’t quite gotten where he was going with this.
Again, simple and polite, Jim said, “So, you choose to pay your electric bill because you’re unwilling to lose the things in your life that electric allows you to have.”
At first, I was kind of skeptical about this concept of “choice statements.” But, it grew on me really quickly…because it makes sense. We hold ourselves down with obligations and shoulds and have tos, and those are draining and lead us to feel stuck. But, I believe we have choices and that once you learn that you have choices, you can truly be free.
