Firstly, I'd like to thank a good friend of mine who posted a blog about "Short Term Specialists" and this stuck in my mind as a topic for all of you. His blog, whilst being about exercise, is very relevant to our fields in Allied Health.
I find that most psychologists of whom I've worked with shy away from being a specialist in their field. They shy away from the term, the focus, and the benefit of this very valuable service. I understand the reasons behind this, but I'd like to take a moment to push your comfort zones.
In Mat's blog, above, he talks about his journey to his handstands and how he needed to shift his thinking and focus to become really good at something else. So, here are my three thoughts:
If I ask you what are the three things that make you different than the 40 other people on your street who do the same thing, what would make you different?
If I ask you when was the last time you took a chance in your career and pushed your comfort zones, when would that have been and what was it?
When have you honestly sacrificed something in your career to take it to the next step?
For the last one, I don't mean that you sacrificed all the years you were in uni to get where you are. Because honestly, just because you have a degree, doesn't mean the world owes you anything.
A lot of people ask me why I'm not self-employed anymore. I loved it. I thrived in it. Consulting, for me, allowed me to grow as a professional and learn as an individual. I'll tell you why though, I'm comfortable in where I am at the moment. My momentary sacrifice is for comfort. This is new territory for me. Working for someone, I'm learning new things by being an employee.
Don't try and be a million things. Everyone sees clients with anxiety and depression. Sorry, but its true. Find your art form, perfect it, learn from it, take as long as needed to understand all aspects of it. Be known for it. Then if you want, after a period of time, find a new area. You can think of it as being a short-term specialist.
