Wow - You are Amazing!

In preparing for a lecture, where I was coaching year 3 students at my college this week, I really reflected on how little we give ourselves credit for doing amazing things. Often I think we rush from one goal to another without ever taking the time to look back and feel proud of what we have done. 

This could be various things:

• Professionally, this could be the fact that we've worked really hard for a promotion at work and we should celebrate when we finally get it. But then I think that often we then go onto the next problem such as trying not to feel imposter syndrome too badly or starting to plan how to get the next promotion.
  
• In personal achievements, it could something like completing a marathon. We often celebrate (or commiserate) the time that we get but often don't think about the countless hours put into the training to achieve that goal. Any race actually begins months or years before the big day as you have to train both your body and your mind to achieve your goal.
  
• In the clinic, I reflect on the number of patients who have persevered through years of pain before finding a solution. We should celebrate these warriors who have shown so much grit and determination to continue fighting every day with a smile on their face even when it would be incredibly easy to give up. 

The way that we celebrate achievements is really rubbish. We look at the tip of the iceberg rather than all that is hidden.

Being an acupuncture student is incredibly challenging; you give up a lot of your spare time over a three year period, put your family and loved ones through difficulty whilst you try to juggle a million things, the financial cost is huge, and there are so many more things. We focus on results and grades, and the next exams rather than all that we have achieved both academically and personally.

Looking at the year 3 students made me think about all the hard work that they have put in and all that they should be proud of. I tried to encourage them all to take a step back and reflect on all they have achieved, all in the name of helping others. There's no higher purpose than that.

I reflect on my own journey and going from being a student, to the day after I got my results being in a new clinic, not taking a pause to reflect on what I had achieved. Instead I started to worry about the next thing, such as seeing enough patients, breaking even, thinking about courses to do to improve my clinical results, and so much more. Never taking a second to think "wow, you are amazing". 

That's where I wanted to share this little reminder to reflect on your recent goals and think "wow, I did that". These things are personal so will all be unique to you but do take a pause today and reflect on your recent accomplishments and all that you've done to achieve them. 

Take a second to appreciate how much of an awesome person you are. Because trust me, you are.