Self-care in a season of growth

In episode 27 of the podcast, we talk about the importance of regularly occurring self-care check-ins as a way of ensuring we intentionally incorporate strategies that align with our current realities, or our current "season".

And yet how many of us have really considered the importance of this? And honestly why would we?

This isn't necessarily a topic of discussion during our training and isn’t even included in most self-care messaging. Yet from our perspective this is a foundational aspect of effective, personalized self-care.

When I reflect back over my own journey from when I began my post-secondary education to where I am now (late career), I'm reminded of so many different seasons. Seasons of health, seasons of illness, seasons of caregiving, seasons of growth, seasons of transition, seasons of challenge, seasons of loss. And this list will, no doubt, continue to grow as I continue my journey.

Admittedly, in the past I wasn’t particularly good at noticing my season and my general approach to self-care was more about pushing through than actually pausing and intentionally incorporating self-care strategies that would help me move through my seasons with greater ease. That’s not to say I wasn’t doing anything to support my own well-being, but rather that I truly just didn’t have the knowledge or understanding that was needed to be more intentional in my self-care.

As I’ve continued on my journey I’ve tried to be more aware of my seasons and be more intentional at aligning my self-care activities with my current season, which has been incredibly helpful. One of the really interesting things that has become apparent through this process is that sometimes the best self-care might actually involve spending more time on our professional activities.

A couple of years ago I came to the realization that it was time to shift my professional practice to an area that I had become particularly passionate about—assessment of learning disabilities. Shifting my practice in this way was definitely aligned with my needs and current realities as it would enable me to focus on something I really enjoy (yes, I’m one of those who actually loves report writing!), and it would provide me with increased flexibility and freedom in my schedule (e.g., I could take extended holidays and not be concerned about finding coverage for therapy clients, I could schedule assessments based on my preferred hours of work, etc.).

As I started thinking more about this possible change, it became apparent that this would definitely put me in a season of transition and growth. And those types of seasons often, just naturally, require us to focus more attention on our professional activities.

During my season of transition and growth, I began letting go of certain professional responsibilities and making space for other activities that aligned with my current season. I researched upcoming releases of new tests in order to guide my purchase choices, I learned about ipad test administration and purchased everything necessary to do so, I began clearing my schedule for assessment referrals, I informed my contacts about my shift in practice, and I consulted with colleagues about administrative and clinical matters related to my practice. And, like most of us, I also needed to maintain some income during this season of transition and growth, which meant most of these activities were done during evenings and weekends.

Yet to be honest, most of the time it didn’t really feel like work (okay, except for some of the learning about new technology!) and most of the time it energized me.

It’s been just over a year now since I began my season of transition and growth and, while I’d say that I’m still in that season, it certainly looks different than it did a year ago. I’m still continuing to learn new things related to both the administrative and clinical side of my practice but I’m spending much less time on these things and I’m usually able to make space for them during my work week.

And as I reflect back over the past year, I would definitely say that spending more time on professional activities was most certainly an act of self-care that was beautifully aligned with my season of transition and growth.

So, as you continue on your own professional self-care journey, consider taking intentional pauses along the way to reflect upon your own season and the self-care strategies that are best aligned with where you’re at. You might just be surprised about where that simple act takes you.

Where will your reflactions take you?