My Root to Rise

So I haven’t even started writing this post and I already feel like I have a massive vulnerability hangover… 

Starting a business has been amazing! I have to say that for me, it feels like one of the best things I could have taken on. Each day feels like an insane learning curve but I always come home with a smile on my face knowing that I am growing myself, my business and my future.

To be honest, I totally underestimated how much starting a business would challenge me to reflect on my values, my goals and what I wanted long term out of life. Initially, I thought I was just running through the logical progression of the PT career- start out, find good mentors, take ALL the courses known to man, get certified in EVERYTHING, gain a reputation, open your own practice and hire other PTs to work under you. You know the drill. 

Now, please don’t get me wrong there is NOTHING wrong with the way ANYONE is doing things- everyone is just doing what is right for them! As my colleague Raj Suppiah exclaimed on Instagram earlier this week, “YOU DO YOU!” So I think for me, where my issues was is that I got caught up thinking that what everyone else was doing was right for me too…

In the past couple of weeks I have reflected heavily on my last blog post (in case you missed it you can read it HERE) and been forced to think about my long game as I searched out commercial space for Press Play’s permanent home. What do I envision 5 years from now? What does success look like to me? What am I most passionate about? How do I want my days to look? Let’s just say it has been a VERY existential couple weeks (LOL) and this is where sh*t gets real. 

So I am just going to say it. 

I don’t feel good in a constant hustle. I don’t love having a crazy jam packed day schedule. I don’t like how it feels for me when I have to rush with patients. I can no longer be afraid to drink water because I have no time to go pee! And given this, I cannot run my practice the way it has been traditionally done.

Trust me, it has been so hard to get the voices out of my head saying I need to see someone every 20-30 minutes or that I have to work until 8pm 3 nights a week. Somehow I have let it become engrained in me that I should feel an exhausting sense of accomplishment seeing 16 patients a day EVERY DAY. But when I look at my 5 year vision, at what I value and what success means to me- none of those things are accomplished by me driving myself into the ground day after day. 

I want to build a life, not a business. I want to lead by example. I want to workout. I want to eat lunch and drink water. I want to finish my charting at the office. I want to set up my days so that have the energy I need in order to treat each and every patient like the are my ONLY patient. That is what will make me feel successful. That is what will keep the smile on my face and fire in my heart so I have adjusted my practice accordingly. My schedule is more limited, I have more breaks, my appointment times are longer and I love my work so much more.

Again, this is what I know works for me. This is what fits my life and my goals.  I feel so blessed to have had the time, resources and supports to figure out what works for me and to make that vision come true. I am in no way saying you cannot feel happy or you are not successful if you are doing something different, this is just me doing me.

I’ve noticed recently that my Instagram DMs and email inbox is chalked full of young physios who are confused, exhausted and wondering what I am doing different. I know it isn’t fully just me who is starting to question how we operate in our careers. In every young physio I speak with there is a sense of “burnout,” perfectionism, overwhelm and stress. This is such a fun and rewarding career and it makes me take pause to hear from so many struggling and feeling like they aren’t able to find balance and live their own visions.

How can we better set ourselves up for personal and professional success? For each person it will be different but I feel passionate about sharing my story and my journey so that those who identify with it can understand that they are not alone. Everyone’s path and needs are going to be different. This profession can be insanely demanding both physically and mentally and my path has brought me to a place where I realize that in order to achieve my definition of success I have to play my own game. 

Phewf! Now I am going to post this before I regret it!

E.