We’ve been away from social media, more or less, for the last couple of months. This was on purpose. Christy and I have been working behind the scenes to realign, revision, and launch new initiatives for The Practice Calgary. That’s the official statement, and it is true. But the deeper truth is that I was taking a walk with uncertainty. It really does not matter how ‘successful’ a person has been, or capable they have felt or been perceived as, insecurity and uncertainty don’t care. It is Ok to acknowledge it.
I took a step back because I wasn’t entirely clear where I was at, and where we were going. I recognized it when I observed where my energy was going, and it seemed that somewhere along the line I began promoting instead of communicating. I was second guessing, and looking at the likes, instead of focusing on who we are and what our vision is. When I could see this, I allowed myself to ‘not know’ and reminded myself that there is no urgency. The timeline is false, as timelines generally are. In this period, I really focused on what I know to be true for me; working with clients, friends and family, meditation and reflection, running, and fun. Amazing things happen when you let go.
The clarity came when Christy and I returned to the original business plan. We could see what had been pushed aside, what no longer fit, and what we are doing very well. During the weeks of sitting with uncertainty, who had become like a rather annoying child as opposed to a frightening adversary, my clarity grew and with that came confidence. “Ok, so uncertainty, you’re still here. You can come along, but I’m going to go ahead and ignore you”. Finally, I could see our vision, mission, and goals. Together we could dream out loud again! Another thing happened during our retreat, at the exact moment that I felt the welling surge of insecurity rearing to a point of killing my plausible deniability, our business surged (amazing, thank you <3). Planned happenstance. This is what we have been waiting for; three wildly talented and experienced professionals joined our team (amazing story for another time). Christy and I have learned a great deal in the years we have fostered The Practice Calgary, most important we learned to lean our intuition. We have long-identified a need for experienced clinicians to grow our team, but countless interviews have ended up with us going with our gut “not the right fit”. So, in spite of my predicament, when the right people emerged, we felt it was the only move was to welcome new team members. Ever felt compelled forward, even though internally you are feeling more than a little lost? When exactly what you have been dreaming of manifests into reality you don’t exactly tell the Universe that you need a minute to collect yourself.
The vision for The Practice Calgary is to normalize emotional and mental health by being a team of real and approachable professionals. The vision is to truly be a safe and welcoming health and wellness home where the helpers are transparent and experienced, and where the guidance is real (no, you do not have to look in the mirror and Guy Smiley it). Mental health should be as acceptable as physical health. This means internally we must have people who want to be there, who are happy to be there, who live well and hold a genuine place of non-judgement. If we are not supporting each other, then we have no business supporting you. Socially responsible. That is an absolute actionable goal and this is what, in hindsight, caused my Instagram energy to morph into a brick wall in perfect time for me to hit it. To me socially responsible means honest. Social media can be great, but it can do a lot of damage by skewing our perception of life. Honest, real, and thought provoking. Never for ‘likes’ and never staged. The intention is as important as the action.
So, thank-you uncertainty for causing us to hit pause. Thank you to an amazing team and community that allowed us to sit quietly. Now we feel energized and excited to continue making mental health real and relatable, break down barriers to getting support, and to have a lot of fun while we do it! We’d love for you to keep in touch with us. We’ll be introducing our team, letting you know about community engagement evenings (starting with a no-cost Evening with Dr. Liann Meloff, R Psyc on “Preparing Your Child for Success”), and putting out lots of real content on all sorts of mental health and wellness topics!
Best, Carmen