Don't find your passion, find your sh*t sandwich

If you’re a therapist or a teacher, you know there are a lot of obstacles getting in the way of providing quality services. Staffing issues. Lack of time. Lack of funding. Big caseloads. Legal mandates that impact service delivery.It’s an incredibly bureaucratic system that can leave the people in it feeling helpless to do anything about it. Some people working in education and healthcare worry that they’ve picked the wrong career, and they’re looking for an exit path.Others are sticking it out simply because they care deeply about what they do…yet they live with a sense that they could be doing something more for their caseloads. There’s kind of a “should I stay or should I go” dilemma. Or should I stay and try to make it better? Is the system too broken to be fixed, or can I do something about it?There are many legitimate reasons for therapists to feel disempowered in the current system. But the reality is that there is no one “perfect” way for schools to run. There’s no perfect policy or legal mandate. There’s no perfect career that’s going to be free of problems. When we solve the issues on our plate; there will always be more to follow. Believing otherwise only sets us up for disappointment. That’s why in episode 72, I’m talking about why the path to feeling optimistic and empowered comes from asking better questions. Many people look at their current situation and think, “How do I solve all of my problems?”I think this is the wrong question to be asking. In this episode, I talk about what to ask yourself instead. In this episode, I mention Elizabeth Gilbert. You can learn more about her work here. I also mention Mark Manson, the person who coined the term “sh*t sandwich”. You can learn more about his work here. In this episode, I mentioned that I’m about to open the doors to my Clinical Leadership program. This program is designed to help pediatric therapists be better leaders, so they can make a bigger impact with their services. If you’re a therapist or an educator working with kids, and you want to think bigger about how you serve your caseload, community, and your field, then this program is for you. You can join the waiting list here to be notified when program enrollment is open.