When you set goals, something inside of you starts saying, “Let’s go, let’s go,” and ceilings start to move up
Zig Ziglar
What are you thinking about your private practice? When you reflect on what you have done so far, or what you have not done yet — what is the tone of your thoughts? Are you thinking about your next step with excitement and hope, or…
- are you kicking yourself for what you haven’t done or what you feel you haven’t done right?
- are you second guessing the time/money/effort you’ve spent so far having not reached your “goal” just yet?
- when you think about your practice do your shoulders go up and is your body awash with tension?
- are you doing the same old things over and over again?
Private practice is a lot like playing golf (on Maui). Golf is a game played between the ears. What you expect, what you believe, and how you think are critical to the experience.
Like golf you need to learn the game… you need to practice… you have to work hard… and you must be good at what you do But you can’t have success without goals, positive thoughts, and a good attitude
Several years ago I had the opportunity to play golf on Maui. It was one of the most exciting and beautiful experiences of my life. I’m no pro, but when I was playing the game I love… where I always dreamed of playing it… the way I wanted to play it (just enjoying every inch of beauty I saw along the way), I played well and I felt like a million dollars. And… it’s something I’ll never regret and never forget for the rest of my life.
That’s how I feel about my private practice.
My money (from my own experience) is on Zig for this one.
Set some goals and think about them (in a positive way,) often. Before you know it those ceilings will start to rise!
Hey Deb,
The thing that gets me down is that where I live the most I can get reimbursed for my services is 65. an hour. We bill 100. and the insurance companies cap out at 50 and 65 dollars.
I don’t think it is that way everywhere. Also with two universities churning out mental health counselors and msw’s it is very competitive. Plus I live in a very poor part of the country with the local community mental health clinic providing psychiatry and counseling. The community clinic is a facade and really only offers medication.
Hard to get excited. When my schedule is never full.
Thanks for the words of encouragement.
Trish
@ Trish – It really is unfortunate that the insurance reimbursements are not what they should be. It happens in my area too. I try to balance it out with some higher paying insurance, private pay, and other services. I just wrote about this very (pertinent) topic in a blog post that will come out later in the week. When you are “fishing in the desert” you have to have a Plan B (and sometimes C, D, & E!).