Do you consider yourself an asset?
I was listening to a podcast the other day with a coach who described how she saw herself as THE ASSET of her business, and she treated her time, energy, self-care and investments accordingly.
It was such a great way to describe how I'd love us as clinicians to see ourselves.
Think about this for a second...
As a clinician, you:
Take in & process an incredible amount of information every day, make decisions and sustain mental focus for long periods of time
Have a significant emotional load and are building and maintaining relationships with patients & colleagues
Use a significant amount of physical energy during the day
Have invested an incredible amount of time, energy and financial resources just to become qualified, not to mention the additional reading, courses or specialised training
The quality of your life and career depends on giving yourself the things you need and desire in order to feel & function your best.
You are the very definition of an ASSET!
If thinking of yourself this way makes you feel uncomfortable, you're not alone. There's a reason (or reasons!) that we don't treat ourselves like the assets we are.
Here are two of the most common ones:
You don't feel "worthy" of considering yourself an asset. You think that you would treat yourself as an asset if you just were really good at what you do, earned a lot of money or made massive impact in the world. And even though we also need to question the fact that you think those aren't true already, consider for a second that in order to do ANY of those things, you need to already be treating yourself like an asset. Think about how much more possible it is to achieve excellence, impact & success when you are feeling & functioning at your absolute best!
It seems selfish, indulgent or egotistical. When you are used to having your time & energy be for others and not for yourself, it can feel like you are taking from others when you focus on yourself. But realise that this isn't actually true: by treating yourself as an asset, you are not taking anything away from someone else and you are not saying that you're more worthy or important than others. And again, if considering yourself an asset allows you to do the work you were made to do in this world, does that really sound selfish?
I'd love to know; if you truly believed that you were AN ASSET (or THE ASSET) in your life & career...
How would you spend your time and energy?
Who and what would you surround yourself with?
How would you approach self-care?
How would you spend your money?
How would you approach rest and recovery?
