Today’s quote of the day is one that I found comforting in this busy time where I’m completing midterms for my placement students and interviewing future ones.
As an Occupational therapy student, we were painted this picture of constantly growing yet also the idea that after a certain amount of practise time you’d no longer struggle for information. In my first job in public practice, “new OTs” were given mentorship for the first little while, once a week, to support starting your practice. This gives the idea that after a certain amount of time you’d no longer have questions or struggles.
I’m sure if you’re in ANY profession you know that there will always be unknowns and you’ll always be looking for a new piece of information.
As a professional working with humans, especially children, I find that some days I truly feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. Daily I will feel lack of confidence in my skills and that maybe I’m not “doing enough”. But at the end of the day, as Sonia said in this quote, the surplus of effort I give to every client and every placement student more than makes up for it.
I am blessed to be working in a space where I get acknowledgement and feedback regularly without needing to seek it out. I know that if I put in the effort and truly try my very best, my team will give me feedback and they are also not hesitant to make suggestions to support me.
If you are not in a space where you feel this, my recommendation is to make that feedback loop for yourself! I always tell my students to take initiative to create a little community of people who they can bounce ideas off of, and get feedback from. I have a network of OT friends from my masters degree, past students and individuals I’ve connected with virtually and through conferences who I often use as a sounding board. They can give me that feedback of “great idea!” or “this is what I would do!”, and then help me feel that my surplus of effort is making a difference!
Another thing I recommend my students to do is use self reflection journals in their practice. They are using them in placement to reflect and process their days to help their learning, but also to notice their successes. It’s hard to be in a helping profession where the systems work against you and you never feel like you’re doing enough. So keeping a journal where you can celebrate small wins (and I’m talking SMALL wins… don’t measure progress of the goal necessarily, focus on even smaller) can really highlight your skill and the work you’ve done!
At the end of the day, effort is measurable whereas confidence is a feeling that our brains often trick us out of, so measure the passion and effort you put into each work day to celebrate yourself!
I’ve started reading the self compassion workbook by Dr Kristin Neff, and this journey will kind of play into this quote, so if you’re interested in learning more let me know!
What are you proud of yourself for today? đź©·
Be Your Own Sunshine 