I recently read and absolutely loved the book Maybe you Should
Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb.It
is a funny, vulnerable, moving, and thought provoking memoir that interweaves her
experience as a therapist and her own journey in therapy with existential
questions about life, grief, love, and loss.
I’ve been a therapist for nearly 20 years, and I generally feel
pretty confident about my work.But when
I read this book, I questioned how I show up with clients, my therapeutic
style, ways maybe I play it too safe, etc. I thought about how I do things and reminded myself of why I do them that way and that it's okay for us to do things differently and still both have value and impact.
The case studies she shares in the book are inspiring
examples of what’s possible when someone goes to therapy.Reading them, I started comparing the transformations
I see with my clients with what she describes. I again questioned my work. I had to remind myself that she is surely
sharing her most compelling stories and that she’s not sharing the stories of cases
that didn’t go as well.
I also remind myself of the amazing transformations I HAVE witnessed
over the years.I think therapists and coaches
and healers, especially those who’ve been doing it for a long while, can have a
tendency to take the miracles and transformation we see on a regular basis for
granted.It’s easy to forget or
undervalue the impact we’re making.
My feelings of inadequacy were relatively minor.But when I notice myself feeling even just TWINGES
of jealousy or comparing myself to someone else, I try to use that as a
springboard for growth. I choose to
believe feelings of jealousy or inadequacy when comparing myself to other
people is anindicator that what they have (or some version of it) is
possible for me.
So instead of getting sucked into feelings of inadequacy,
I used the book and my inner curiosity and inquiry as inspiration. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been taking more
therapeutic risks.I challenged myself in
places I’ve been playing it safe.It
took courage, but good things came from it, including receiving a completely
unexpected letter of appreciation!
I invite you to think about someone who triggers feelings of
jealousy or inadequacy in you.Think
about what it is they get to have that you want—maybe validation, attention, feeling special or loved, etc. What small (or big) action you can take to move
toward that?
I made a live video talking more about this topic in my Facebook community for therapists, coaches, healers, and wellness practitioners
who want to create more abundance, success, and empowerment. Click here to come on over and join us!
While there are definitely things I enjoy about the holiday
season (my Pandora Christmas station is one of my great life pleasures!), I
have an inner Grinch-y part that doesn’t like the extra stress, pressure, and
overwhelm that can happen this time of year.
I’m consciously working on stressing less this
season so I can be more present to enjoy the magic and festivities with friends
and family.
Here’s some of the things I’m focusing on in order to get
the most out of this time of year. I’m
sharing in hopes that they’ll be helpful to you too.
Eat well!I
recently heard that most people gain 5-15 pounds between Halloween and New Years
Day.Yikes! With all the extra parties and gatherings that
involve holiday treats, it is my intention to think of food as fuel and stay
away from foods that don’t serve me nutritionally.If I know certain foods “zap” me of energy, I
want to make different choices, so I will have the energy I want to get stuff done
and enjoy the people I love.
Move your body!With all the extra things on the schedule and to do list, it’s easy for
exercise to get moved towards the bottom of the priority list.But we know that exercise improves our mood
and energy.It doesn’t have to be a big
event.Twenty minutes is better than
nothing. Just keep it on the priority list! No excuses.
Get the sleep your body needs.With everything going on, it can be harder to
get the rest we need.Plus, party foods
and beverages and relying on extra caffeine can all impact our sleep
quality.Be mindful of things that get
in the way of a good night’s sleep, so you can have the energy and well-being
to get things done and enjoy the season.
Safeguard your schedule. This time of year, our schedules can start bursting at the
seams! Being conscious of this can help
us be more forward-thinking in order to create balance.If on top of your normal work and home
duties, you have two band concerts and a dance recital and company coming into
town all in one week, can you find some down time for yourself somewhere?Finding a way to carve out just 20-30 minutes
of intentional down time can help.
For many of us, our time is our most precious commodity.Think about how you really want to spend your
time and energy. It’s ok to say no
to things, even fun things, to maintain your sanity and your inner peace.
Prioritize the work you most want to get done.There’s so many extra things going on during
this time, that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. What
are the most important things you want to focus on? What do you want to get
done to feel good about how you finish out the year?What steps do you need to take to ensure you make
the progress you’d like to make?Think
about your 2020 goals and think about what you can do to set yourself up for
success now. Find ways to take action
that make sense for you.Then celebrate
yourself for the actions you take!
Set reasonable expectations (adjust expectations as
needed) and give yourself permission to be okay with that.So many of us set unreasonable expectations
for what we can do during this time period. I love my focused productive time and getting
things done, and I don’t like the disappointment I feel if I don’t get as much
as I want done. And this time of year,
with everything going on, I need to be extra conscious of my expectations of
myself so I don’t get disappointed if I don’t get to it all. If I give myself permission to just say, “Okay,
I’m not going to get as much done as I typically would,” I’ll be much happier
and saner and more able to enjoy and be truly present with the things that
matter most to me.
Make time for fun and people you love! Enjoy them!In all the hustle and bustle or our
schedule and to do list, we can forget to make time for truly being present
with and enjoying time with the people we love. Being intentional about creating quality time
will help us be more present and enjoy the season more.
Let me know your thoughts.What are your biggest challenges in maintaining balance this time of
year?What do you do to maintain or
create balance?
I want to answer for you the number one question that I get from therapists,
coaches, healers, and other wellness practitioners, which is:
HOW
CAN I CREATE A THRIVING BUSINESS HELPING PEOPLE?
Check out my answer in the video below:
In
the video, I share three big problems that most practitioners have when they
try to create a practice or business and three essentials to doing it right.Because frankly, based on what I see, so many
helping professionals go into business in a way that is not going to be
sustainable for them.Because it’s one
thing to be a great practitioner, to be great at what you do, but it’s another
thing to be a great business owner.
One of The most common mistakes I see therapists, coaches,
and healers make in trying to create a profitable business is focusing solely
on the outer work of building a business–things like developing their craft and
learning to be a great practitioneras
well as things like marketing, SEO, creating an online presence, and even
networking without simultaneously focusing on the inner work of building a
business.
Now, those outer work things are important and we absolutely
need them.Of course we want to be a
great practitioner.But I’ve seen time
and time again wonderful people and excellent practitioners start a business
with an inner state that will never allow them to be successful financially.
I’ve also seen time and time again people take marketing and
business building workshops and programs that give them wonderful and helpful
strategies to implement, but they never fully take advantage of what they learn
because of the inner resistance that these strategies trigger.
For example, if you’re taking a course on how to grow your
business using Facebook but internally you hate the visibility required on
Facebook. Maybe you have inner parts of
you that say, “It’s not safe to be seen.It’s dangerous for me to be seen.”Can you see how if that’s the case it’s going to be hard to implement what
they’re teaching you in that course on being more visible?
Let’s face it, creating a business is so vulnerable and
marketing our business can be very triggering.We can have world class business building and success strategies, but
what I’ve seen over and over again is that until you work with the inner blocks
and programming and even trauma surrounding money, worth, deserving, and
allowing yourself to be seen, the outer strategies will never work as well they
could.
Instead, when it comes to marketing and business building, people
will procrastinate, get stuck in overwhelm, will spin in their heads, or find
other ways to sabotage themselves. This
keeps them struggling to get enough clients or struggling to create the
practice and income they want and feeling terrified about their future. I’ve seen this so many times—in clients, in
colleagues and friends, and in myself.
The truth is, creating a business can be really stressful.When you own your own business, not being
able to pay your bills, depleting your savings, or accumulating debt are real
possibilities that happen to a lot of people.And that takes a huge emotional toll.Struggling in business is exhausting and can feel scary, embarrassing,
shameful.I’ve had so many clients who
were devastated by the thought of giving up their dream and going back to a
“real job.”
One of my clients, Gina, came to me after being in private
practice about a year.She said if
things didn’t start improving for her within a few months, she was going to apply
for salaried jobs.She had children to
support and she could not afford to continue her practice because it was not
bringing in significant income.Even
though she knew many concrete steps she could take to get more clients, she had
strong internal blocks about “putting herself out there.”Once she was able to bring healing to these
parts of her and the wounds she had around “being seen,” she was so much more easily
able to take bold, strategic actions.Within three months, she went from having a few client sessions a week
to a full practice.
Now, you may be saying, “It can’t be that easy” or “That
would never work for me.”And that’s
okay. But I want you to think of it this way.Gina tripled her income in 3 months, but she was starting with a small
income.What if you increased your income
by 10% or 20%--maybe adding $400-$2000 extra a month or $5K-$20K/year.Would that be worth it?Do you think you have an inner block that
might beblocking you from adding just
10% to your income? Maybe its’s an inner block that keeps you from raising
your rates by just 10%. Or an inner block that’s keeping you from being more
confident when talking to potential referral sources.What do you think that’s costing you? When we have the intention of leaving no stone
unturned in the process of clearing out inner limiting beliefs, 5 and 10%
changes add up quickly.And wouldn’t
it be awesome to add those percentages to your income?
Maybe your problem isn’t putting yourself out there.Maybe it’s talking about money.Maybe it’s doubting yourself. Maybe it’s past experiences holding you back.Maybe it’s perfectionism.Money issues have all sorts of tendrils and
tentacles.But again, if shifting just
one small aspect could give you a change in your income, would that be worth
it?
Now, let’s talk about three things you need to do to create
the income you want and a business you love. First, you need to be willing to look
honestly at your relationship with money and success, which, frankly, can
be triggering and challenging.It takes
courage.Our relationship with money and
success is often much deeper and more complex than we think.It has to do with safety, security, how we
grew up, things that happened to us in the past, self-worth, confidence,
personal power, deserving issues, and much more.But if we’re not willing to look at it, it
will never change.
But just looking at and bringing consciousness and awareness
to your relationship with money isn’t enough. This is where so many programs fall short. The second thing you need to do is the real inner
work to heal and shift your relationship with money and success.And I’m not talking about just a mindset
shift. And this is one of the things about my approach that is unique—I have
almost twenty years of experience using body-centered, mindfulness based
approaches that truly transform you in a deep and embodied way.So that when you shift your relationship with
money and success, your way of being in the world is truly different.
Imagine what life would be like for you if you could stand
up in front of hundeds of people and embody an energy that said, “I’m amazing
at what I do, and I deserve to be paid well for it,”and you felt really solid in that.How would life be different for you? How
would your business be different? Your bank account be different?
Third, in addition to the inner work, you DO also need to do
the outer work.You need to develop a
strategic action plan that will help grow your business and put that plan in
action.Once you know how to work with
your inner resistance and limiting beliefs, doing the outer work that once felt
so overwhelming and impossible will feel
much more effortless.There will be so
much less self-sabotage, procrastination, and overwhelm, and that feels so
amazing.
Here’s the thing, if you’re not doing as well as you’d like
financially, or if you don’t have enough clients, or enough ideal clients, if
you find yourself feeling stuck or overwhelmed, constantly procrastinating, or
just unsure of what steps to take, chances are you that you have inner blocks
holding you back, which means you’re not making the money that you could be
making and you’re losing the opportunity to serve people who need you.
Or maybe you’re just stuck in a rut, plateaued or feel like
you’ve hit a glass ceiling in your income.Maybe you want more and think more might be possible but you’re not sure
how to get there.This can also be an
indication that your inner blocks are holding you back.
One of the coolest things I’ve seen in doing this work with
people is how much more confident they feel in the process.Yes, we are working on money issues.But inherent in working with money issues is
working on self-worth and self-doubt.When we can go in to work on money issues and have a literal financial
payoff for that, it’s awesome. Of course, people want that, and I want that for
you. But working on money issues also leads to a HUGE payoff in more
confidence, owning our own awesomeness more, and feeling calmer and safer in
the world.And that gets me even more
excited than the financial payoff, because those things change how you experience
the world and how your life looks in so many ways.
Maybe you’re thinking, “Oh, but you know what, I’m just
getting started or just thinking about getting started. This is not something I
need to do yet.”Let me tell you, when
you’re getting started is a time when you most need this.Get started off on the right foot, so you
don’t have to struggle for months or even years on a circuitous path.One of the biggest mistakes I made in my own
practice was not investing in success coaching sooner.
Or maybe you’re thinking, I’ll go it my own and work on my
own blocks.I know how to do that, after
all, I’m a therapist or coach.I know
about this stuff.Well, I know some incredible self-healing modalities, and I
can speak from experience, that that isn’t as effective as we think it is going to be.I found a coach I really wanted to work with,
but her coaching program was $35,000, and I couldn’t afford it.I told myself I’d take what I’d gotten from
her for free and implement what I’d learned and start saving money for the
program for the next year.Well, do you
know where I was a year later?Pretty
much in the exact same place. We just
can’t see our own blindspots and we will
get there so much faster with support from people whose job it is to help us
succeed.Now I did choose to work with
her that next year (not the $35K version, but still VERY much out of my
financial comfort zone), and that program dramatically changed my life and my
finances.
I believe that when people like you are more successful in
business, the world's just a better place.The world needs your big heart and big gifts and YOU deserve to be paid
well for your gifts. That's why I'm on a mission to help heart-centered practitioners
get out of their own way and grow their businesses.
If you're ready to move forward and make more money in a
practice or business you love, I invite you to schedule a complimentary
Practice Accelerator Session where we’ll explore the biggest obstacles getting
in your way and the number one thing you can do to move forward now. I'm committed that you get value out of the
complimentary session I’m offering you, and if we're a fit, then we'll talk
about how we might work together.
It has always been important to me to do the best I can at my work. This desire has led me to invest tens of thousands of dollars in my own growth work as well as extensive, cutting-edge therapeutic trainings. And because of these investments, when I started my private practice, I was a solid, well-trained therapist and generally got great results with clients, which is important and wonderful. But will this alone make your private practice highly profitable? Nope. Not significantly. Why not?
Most therapists invest many resources in becoming excellent practitioners but don’t invest in becoming successful business owners.
It wasn’t until I invested in success coaching that things really started to turn around for me. Through coaching, I started seeing my inner blocks to success, my inner money and confidence blocks, and my inner worth and deserving issues in ways I had never seen them in over two decades of intensive inner work. And when I started to transform these inner blocks, my practice started changing almost magically. Once I did the inner work, the outer changes (e.g. raising prices, networking, marketing, etc.) happened with much more ease. And I see these same results again and again with clients.
Inner changes, coupled with strategy, support, and accountability can absolutely transform your business and your income.
Getting support from people whose job is to help you to succeed is often the missing step for therapists.But, unfortunately, most therapists will never invest in coaching. They don’t see the value. They don’t think they need it.
And I get that. Investing in coaching was scary for me, but not investing in success coaching sooner was the biggest mistake I made in my practice. It absolutely changed my practice and life in miraculous ways. If I had not invested in success coaching, I would still be unsatisfied with a struggling practice or maybe even working full time in a salaried job. But worse, painful confidence issues around “putting myself out there,” not being “good enough,” and “being seen” would still be keeping me playing small in work and life. And I don’t want that for you. I know so much more is possible.
If you’d like to have a conversation about how to improve your practice in seemingly miraculous ways, click here to schedule a Practice Accelerator Session. In this 45-minute session, we’ll identify the three biggest obstacles getting in your way and the number one thing to do now to move forward.
To your success!
Christina
So many times, when I ask therapists about their
vision, I notice that people either have very little clarity about what they
want or if they have a vision, it is pretty mediocre.
With
a limited vision, you’ll get limited thinking.
Therapists tend to be hesitant to speak about
their deep desires, dreams, and fantasies, such as writing a book, creating
workshops, and leading retreats since they have been often been taught to think
small - that mediocre is all that’s possible in the helping field.
Thinking Small
Your thinking, ideas,
and planning will be in alignment with your vision.So if you have a small or mediocre vision,
you’ll think small.
It
takes effort and expanded thinking to work smarter, not harder, but when you
do, it’s a game changer.
Thinking small can also lead to working hard but
non-strategically, spinning your wheels by doing things that aren’t really
effective, and keeping yourself in the same cycle over and over again.
Lack of vision
and small thinking often go hand in hand with playing small (or even just
playing “medium”), and it can show up in many ways in our business.
Playing small keeps people from putting their
gifts out into the world with their full potential.
Do
you find yourself being timid about trying new things, new offerings, or new
techniques out of fear of what people will think or fear of not being good
enough? Playing small is painful and often rooted in fear, anxiety, and trauma.
Does
lack of confidence or fear keep you from standing out with your gifts?
Does it keep you from talking about your practice in a way that generates
interest and referrals? Do you walk into a networking event and feel invisible,
like no one is paying attention to you or even like you don’t matter? Or
do you get into conversations where all you do is listen but never share about
your own gifts and offerings or if you do it doesn’t feel compelling or
interesting?
How would life be different if you could
own your talents and gifts without fear?
How would you serve the world if you step
into your power in a bigger way?
I would love to
support you in growing more into your vision and power.If you are ready to stop playing small and
step more fully into your power so you can put your gifts into the world in a
bigger way, click here to schedule your complimentary Practice Accelerator
Session. In this 45-minute session we’ll identify the three biggest obstacles
getting in your way and the number one thing you can do to move forward.
And today, I’m talking about Mistake #3: RUNNING YOUR PRACTICE BASED ON FEAR, SCARCITY, GUILT, AND NEEDING TO PROVE YOUR WORTH.
I see therapists making the mistake of running their practice based on fear, scarcity, guilt, and needing to prove their worth on some level or another so often. And this is a bit different from the mistakes I’ve discussed so far, because the inner thoughts and feelings leading to running your practice based on fear, scarcity, guilt, and needing to prove your worth are often deeply rooted in subconscious, old programming, and they’re often core issues effecting many areas of your life. But as therapists, we know we can work with our old programming and make changes in our behavior as a result.
Some therapists will easily identify themselves as doing these things on a regular basis. Other people may have more subtle undercurrents of fear, scarcity, guilt, and needing to prove your worth. You may not even be aware of it or it may not seem to be getting in your way. But it's good to be curious and ask yourself, “Am I doing this? And if so, to what extent?” Because if it is something you're doing, even if it's a two on a scale of zero to 10, isn’t that something you’d want to go after? What would your practice and life look like if it was a 0? What if there was no fear? No scarcity? No guilt? No needing to prove anything? In what ways would your practice look different if you didn’t have fear and scarcity or a need to prove something? How would you show up differently?
When your practice is based on fear, scarcity, guilt, and needing to prove your worth, you tend to overgive and undercharge, both of which can leave you feeling drained, resentful, and not making the money you need or want to make. Overgiving and undercharging also tend to lead to burnout and unsustainable business practices.
For therapists, overgiving tends to happen with time and energy, two very precious commodities. Below are ways overgiving as a result of fear, scarcity, guilt, and needing to prove your worth can show up in a practice:
Giving away your time excessively in phone calls and emails
Regularly going over time in sessions
Spending hours dealing with insurance companies and billing issues rather than letting clients be responsible for some (or all) of it
Spending lots of time looking for resources for clients (and for people who aren’t even clients)
Not having solid boundaries. Not sticking to your no-show or late-cancellation policies or giving leeway every time someone gives you an excuse.
Overworking by scheduling more clients than you’d like to see in a week because of a fear/scarcity mindset
Energetically overgiving, which can lead to feeling drained and tired at the end of the day or week. This is a complex issue, and it’s really important to recognize if it’s happening to you.
Let’s look closer at each of these aspects individually. I encourage you to reflect and rate on a scale of 0-10 how much each aspect is influencing your practice. If it’s a true zero, awesome. And if it’s higher than you want it to be, what can you do to start changing that? Even if it’s a 1 or 2, it’s worth looking at and may be something you’d like to change.
FEAR AND SCARCITY
If you have fear and scarcity in your practice, you may be afraid there will not be enough clients (especially ideal clients), not enough money, and/or you’re not going to make it in private practice. Fear and scarcity often cause people to shut down their practices (and definitely keep people from starting them in the first place).
Fear and scarcity can lead to undercharging because you don’t believe clients can or will pay you a higher fee. You may believe clients will seek out a “better” or more affordable therapist if your rate is too high.
Fear and scarcity can also create feelings of competitiveness with other therapists, making it difficult to effectively build referral relationships.
Fear and scarcity lead to limiting and small thinking, small goals, and small possibilities. It’s fine to genuinely want a small practice, but if you decide that’s what you want because you don’t believe more is possible for you, fear and scarcity may be an issue for you.
Anxiety and scarcity around money can result in seeing clients as “dollar signs” in subtle and sometimes not so subtle ways, which, if sensed, will be a turn off to clients, potential clients, and referral sources and can get in the way of creating an authentic, healing presence with our clients.
TO WHAT DEGREE IS FEAR AND SCARCITY IMPACTING YOUR PRACTICE? (0-10)
GUILT
Guilt can show up in many ways and is often connected to undervaluing ourselves and our work. When we undervalue our work, we are much more likely to feel guilty about charging for it. You may feel guilty about charging too much, so you keep your rates low or have “weird” energy around taking money from clients. You may stay on low-paying insurance panels because you don’t want to deal with the guilt of telling clients you’ll no longer be in-network with their insurance. You may not charge for no shows or late cancellations out of guilt.
Guilt can lead us to make assumptions about our clients and what they may or may not be able to pay. If we feel guilty, we may offer reduction in fees before they’ve even asked(!), and we may work hours we don’t want to work in order to accommodate clients.
Guilt can get in the way of the therapeutic relationship and turn clients off, lead to burnout, and it can definitely keep us from earning what we want to earn.
TO WHAT DEGREE IS GUILT IMPACTING YOUR PRACTICE? (0-10)
NEEDING TO PROVE YOUR WORTH
This is a biggie! And it’s a painful issue. If this is showing up in your practice, it’s probably been a long-standing issue in many areas of your life. Issues around worth, deserving, and being good enough are usually thematic and part of the human experience. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make progress on them. The more we can work with them, the more our practice and our lives will transform. And I believe, as therapists, we have a responsibility to work on these issues in ourselves in order to better serve our clients.
One of the ways this issue of needing to prove your worth can show up in your work is by creating a (probably unconscious) hidden agenda to having a successful private practice. People think, “If I have a successful private practice, it will mean I can finally feel ______________(e. g. good enough, smart enough, successful, worthy, safe, secure),” or, “When I get there, I’ll finally prove_________ (e.g. I’m good enough, I’m valuable, they were wrong about me).”
When you have a hidden agenda like this, it is going to tend to make your life harder. Hidden agendas will make you see challenges as bigger than they are. Normal challenges will feel personal and sabotage you from working towards your goals. You’re more likely to struggle with bigger highs and lows in your practice due to a tendency to take things personally and as a reflection of your worth. For example, if a client doesn’t come back or if you have a slow month, you may experience that as personal rejection and as a reflection of your worth, which can keep you from effective problem solving. While it’s always good to reflect and refine your skills, that’s very different from taking things highly personally.
When you have a need to prove your worth, clients can often pick up on it, and it can be very off putting. If you are depending on your practice to give you validation, even in subtle ways, it can become a dangerous cycle that gets in the way of the work that you want to do with clients.
TO WHAT DEGREE IS THE NEED TO PROVE YOUR WORTH IMPACTING YOUR PRACTICE? (0-10)
To your success! Christina
P.S. Are you ready to let go of this old pattern of living with fear, scarcity, guilt, and needing to prove your worth? Click here to schedule your complimentary Practice Accelerator Session where we’ll identify the three biggest obstacles getting in your way and the number one thing you can do to move forward.
I talk to a lot of therapists who are in
or who want to be in private practice, and I’ve been categorizing common
mistakes that I observe smart, skillful therapists make. In my last post, I discussed the mistake of NOT OWNING YOUR INNER ENTREPRENEUR. In this post I’m going to discuss Mistake #2— NOT WORKING ON YOUR MONEY BLOCKS.
Even though therapists tend to be
self-aware, they often don't dive as deeply as they could into their
money blocks. There are several reasons for this.
One, looking at our money issues can be
painful and highly anxiety provoking. As we know, people avoid things
that are painful, especially when they don’t think that looking at it
will make a difference.
Two, people have so many BLINDSPOTS when
it comes to money issues. We can’t always see what’s getting in our
way, especially without an experienced guide, and because of this, work
around money issues often isn’t as thorough or as deep as it could be.
Relatedly, when working on money issues,
people often do general work around money and abundance issues, but they
don’t dive deep into the real specifics that are getting in their way.
When working with clients around their
businesses, I guide them to see what are often their very specific blind
spots, so that they can really leave no stone unturned when it comes to
their money issues. And I see therapists in shock and surprise all the
time when it comes to this, because they had no idea what would be in
some of the places we go.
Another thing I see is that therapists
often don’t even realize that their money blocks are creating pain in
their lives. For them, money may not be a top priority or motivator.
Or because of their family, cultural, or religious/spiritual
backgrounds, they bury their desire for money because they do not allow
themselves to consciously want it. But even when making money is not a
top priority, money issues and blocks can still create a lot of pain.
Roots of our money blocks are often connected to deep inner issues like
self-worth and deserving.
Most therapists are naturally
big-hearted, generous givers who want to help wherever they can. And
many helpers have gotten a lifetime of positive feedback about how nice,
loving, caring, and giving they are, reinforcing this pattern. Of
course, giving isn’t a bad thing, but this pattern can become a problem
when it’s out of balance. People who give and give and give are often
somewhat shut down when it comes to receiving. Givers can forget about
their own needs and can forget about boundaries. When we are
disconnected from our needs and ability to receive, it can lead to
feelings of burnout, exhaustion, and even depression, and it will
definitely get in the way of having an abundant practice.
I love working with money blocks because
it has such a direct and literal “payoff” in the lives of my clients,
and also because working on money issues often takes us very quickly to
deep, sacred places inside around self-worth, deserving, and receiving,
which can lead us to feeling so much more joyful, confident, and
grounded.
CONSEQUENCE OF IGNORING YOUR MONEY BLOCKS
Not working on your money blocks affects
countless aspects of your practice, life, and overall sense of joy in
life! Below are a few ways it can affect you:
Not charging your worth
Difficulty raising rates
Giving your time away for free through consistently going over time
in sessions, lengthy phone calls, lengthy emails,
paperwork/documentation
Too many discounted or free sessions
Overgiving with your energy—leads to feelings of depletion and exhaustion
Being loose and inconsistent with cancellation, no show, and other policies
Not attracting ideal clients
Attracting clients who don’t value you
Hating your schedule—regularly accommodating clients by working hours you don’t like; overworking out of fear and scarcity
Not investing in yourself or your practice
Saying no to trainings, personal work, and coaching you really want
Doing all the work yourself (instead of hiring people who could make your life so much easier)
Tolerating (rather than loving) the appearance, location, and “vibe” of your office
High levels of stress
Not practicing consistent and/or adequate self-care
Feelings of resentment towards clients
Not giving your best in sessions
Are you ready to go after your blindspots
when it comes to money blocks so you can have the practice and life you
love? Schedule a complimentary Practice Accelerator Session where you’ll discover the three things getting in your way and the number one thing you can do to move forward.
Common Mistake Made by Therapists, Coaches, and Healers in Private Practice
I talk to a lot of therapists who are in or who want to be
in private practice, and I’ve been categorizing common mistakes I observe.
This is the first in a series of posts where I’ll be sharing with you common mistakes I see smart, skillful therapists
make.
MISTAKE #1: NOT OWNING YOUR INNER ENTREPRENEUR
Most therapists did not get into the field because they
wanted to be an entrepreneur.They tend
to see themselves as “heart-centered,” and, consciously or subconsciously, they
often have all kinds of judgments and negative associations about entrepreneurs
as being money hungry and not really caring about people.This viewpoint can keep therapists from owning
their inner entrepreneur because they have fears of being seen in this light—as
caring more about money than clients, as being too “salesy” or arrogant,
etc.
Other times, confidence issues keep therapists from
stepping into the entrepreneurial energy that would help them market and
network themselves and think like a business owner.Fears of putting themselves out there, of being
more visible, of being judged as “tooting their own horn,” and of not being
good enough are common and can be crippling.
And other times, therapists just simply don’t know HOW to
own their inner entrepreneur (Yep, they sure don’t teach that in counseling
school!). Lack of clarity about what is
and isn’t ethical can also get in the way.
Many therapists run kicking and screaming at the idea of
developing their inner entrepreneur.But
if you’re not owning this part of you, you’re missing out on the awesome gifts
of the entrepreneur, and it is probably costing you big time.
COSTS OF NOT OWNING YOUR INNER ENTREPRENEUR
One of the biggest consequences of not owning your inner
entrepreneur is not putting yourself out there—keeping your gifts hidden like a
well-kept secret. Without leaning into your inner entrepreneur, it can be
really hard to network and market yourself (two things many therapists don’t naturally
like!).But if you can’t put yourself
out there and confidently talk about yourself and your work in a way that lets
people see the value, they’re not going to refer to you.And without referrals, it’s hard to build a
successful practice.
Another way not thinking like a business owner costs
therapists is not getting real with the financial aspect of their
businesses—not looking at profits and losses, not setting financial policies
that support the business (which also, by the way, can actually support
clients!)And, maybe most importantly,
it often prevents them from setting financial goals, which is one of the most
important things to do if you want financial success.
Lastly, therapists who don’t access their inner
entrepreneur are probably missing out on the entrepreneur’s creative tendency
to think big and look for new opportunities, possibilities, and ways to
expand.Therapists without their inner
entrepreneur often have a much smaller vision for their practice and tend to
settle in without much room for growth.
Are you missing out on the gifts of your inner
entrepreneur?If so, what do you think
it’s costing you?
If you’d like to move towards the success that’s
possible when you can have the confidence to own your inner entrepreneur,click here to schedule a complimentary Practice Accelerator Sessionwhere we’ll identify the three
biggest obstacles getting in your way and the number one thing you can do to
move forward.
How well do you manage your own time and energy? How often do you put other people's needs above your own in a way that costs you and the people who need you the most?
Check out this video for more about making yourself your VIP client and how that can transform your life!
