Maintains balance in personal and professional life while prioritizing professional responsibilities and commitments
I am a woman of many interests and I have a hard time saying "No" to people, plans, or activities. One of my goals prior to Level 2 Fieldwork was developing a balance between my personal and professional life. After several months I realized that this was a lot harder than I thought because I was signed up for a lot more things than I had the time to take care of myself and my needs. Since that time I've pruned the amount of extra stuff I participate in that isn't necessary to my professional development to offset the imbalance. During my first Level 2 Fieldwork, I made it a point to go running and workout after work, and my work-life balance was coming back into harmony. However, my second fieldwork rotation required more professional hours than anticipated and so I had less time for myself which resulted in a neglectfulness that I have had to recover from. Two weeks before my second fieldwork ended, I realized that I had neglected myself and I needed to bring harmony back into my life or else I could get burnt out before I really even got started. Before I ever started my journey through fieldwork, I was giving myself more time and TLC through leisurely reading, working out and cuddling with my dog. Although these may not be big things, they are the small things that make up the big things and they matter to me. As I started my third fieldwork rotation, I continued to fulfill these personal commitments to ensure my ability to fulfill my professional responsibilities. None of my professional responsibilities were slighted because I was taking care of myself; rather this additional self-love merely boosted my ability to perform as a practitioner.