Being Authentic means Slowing Down

As I have been preparing to launch this practice, I have learned about having a focus, a niche, an area that you do your best work. Off of this niche, you market your practice. This has been tough for me, because overtly promoting myself has never been something I have been comfortable with. The best advice that I got about this was to be as authentic as possible. My practice should be about my connection with my clients. The only way to truly connect is not to put on a show. I’m not the doctor sitting behind the desk. You aren’t the patient lying on the couch. To be authentic in therapy means that I will be present with you as we travel on this emotional journey. So about today; I walked around Durango, dropping off business cards and a handout that explains some of what I do. At the start, I talked fast, stumbled over my words and felt like a fool. As the day wore on, though, I learned that I had to slow down. I couldn’t express what was important to me if I talked fast and ran out the door. Try it now: For the next 2-3 minutes, focus on your breath. Try to breathe slowly.

• Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
• Inhale for 4 seconds.
• Hold it for 4 seconds.
• Exhale for 6 seconds.

Try this for the next few breaths and notice how tightness and constriction release in your body. At the last place I stopped, a wonderful business by the Durango Library, I was able to have a conversation with the receptionist and the doctor who owns the practice. I took a breath, slowed down, and remembered why I do what I do. It was the most real I felt all day.

Info on Featured Image:

Creator attribution: Nick Youngson – link to – http://nyphotographic.com/

Date first licensed: June 2016

Original Image: http://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/a/authentic.html