WP 2 | How to Heal Through Your Work
Authentic Work
I love being authentic, bold, and real in the work that I do. I've realized over time, I used to follow the rules and feel like I had to have everything to a T. But it's so important in our work that we love it and that we're authentic and that we find healing and joy in it. So I want to let you know that through this podcast, even though I am going to talk about business and the work we do, I'm also going to talk about the inner person that we are, because it's who we are that influences the work that we do, and it's in that, that we find healing.
So on this podcast, yes, you're going to get some great business advice, but you're also going to get kind of more that soul work that we're talking about. Who you are influences what you do. If this is your first time listening to the show, thank you. Feel free to go back and listen to the first episode, to learn a little bit more about me and my journey into becoming a practice consultant.
I am going to be authentic here on this podcast and sharing with you the things that I am learning as I hope that God uses it to take you forward. But let's just get real here. I want to talk about the struggle I even had with creating this podcast. And the pain that it was because I used to have another podcast that I had for a very long time that I had to leave due to unfortunate situation and wasn't able to get that podcast back.
A Chance to Start Over
And then as I started my own consulting business these past few months, I was thinking a lot about that podcast because it was something that I loved, that I was passionate about. I love being able to chat with y'all and connect with you. I love personally listening to podcasts. I can tell you so many times where a podcast has hit my heart so hard and brought change into my life.
I love being able to interview interesting people. It brings great connections. I can help other people in their business and oh my gosh, you meet some cool people through podcasting. So, lots of reasons to do podcasting.
Over the past few months, it has felt like this hill that I cannot climb. I even described it to my therapist. A muddy hill, like every time I'd take a step up, I'd slide backwards, and it was a lot of things. It was the logistics of a podcast, which includes making all the podcasts and doing the intros, the outros, getting all your systems set up. It's a ton of work. Now, obviously, having the PsychCraft Network has been huge for me and the support of Gordon Brewer, and if you haven't met him, he's fantastic.
Gordon hosts the show The Practice of Therapy Podcast, but he has created the PsychCraft Network and it's a group of podcasts that are helping one another. James Marland from the PsychCraft Network edits and produce my podcast. It is pretty amazing. But even with that extra support, I was still finding it difficult.
Fear Can Hold Us Back
I think a lot of times, when we find things difficult, it's not really about the logistics, it's really about the emotion, right? We feel stuck. But it's really about the emotional experience that we have that's causing us to feel stuck. And that's exactly where I was at. I was feeling a lot of pain moving forward, remembering the past, not sure if I could do this again.
All these questions and thoughts that were running through me, but at the same time, I know that I'm supposed to step into something, but I let all that negativity, that limiting beliefs keep me from doing it. And so as I'm sharing this with you, there might be things that you're thinking about that you're feeling limited in, and.
I'm just here to say that there is some hope and healing. Let’s talk about podcasting. Specifically, I was on a run last week listening to the Rob Bell, cast the Robcast. Rob Bell is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to. I really appreciate that he. I feel like he has to do all the things to make a podcast perfect.
He has such a successful podcast, and he really gets led in a spiritual way, which I think is so important when we're speaking that we're not speaking from a piece of paper, but we're really speaking from our hearts and the things that we believe in and love. In fact, he even talked about trying to record a podcast episode and how he had 10 pages basically of notes, and then every time he tried to do it, it just wasn't working right.
Authentic Work From the Heart
That's kind of how I felt like things were going. If I was to sit down, I was just going to try to do a podcast out of this place that I had to, and I wasn't really going to be doing it out of my heart. And so, while I'm on my run last week and I'm listening to, to Rob Talk, he said something that really penetrated and spoke exactly to what I believed in my heart was happening.
He said, “our own healing is always in whatever we are doing.” So our healing comes in what we do. Right. So podcasting is bringing me healing because I'm stepping into it, right? I'm doing it for you because you're listening and you like it. But I'm really doing it for me because I need to do this. I need to step forward.
This is such a good example of so many things in our lives. When I started my private practice, I needed to do it for me. Yes, I was doing it for clients because clients need therapy, but I needed that healing in my own life. We find that our clients bring so much healing to us as we sort through our own stuff in working with them.
Why did I start a group practice? Sure, I wanted to influence my community. I wanted to help therapists get great jobs, help them do the work that they need to do. But I also needed it. For me, I needed a sense of community. I have found myself becoming more of who I am through the people I work with. I'm challenged. I must work through things.
It's amazing. So even podcasting, it is going to make me think about the things I say, the things I do. I'm going to step out of fear and into living my best life, and I'm looking forward to sharing that on this journey with. So, in a lot of ways in our lives, we must find healing through doing right and not doing it for other people.
I especially think as we grow in our skillset and as we grow, maybe in our following, it's easier and easier to start noticing the numbers, noticing the people that are watching us, who's listening to my show, who's saying what about it, or who's talking about the work I do, and how many followers do I have on Instagram, All those things.
But the moment that we stop and start looking at all the followers, all the people, How many books have sold that I wrote? That is when we've lost it. All right? I never want to get on this show and do a podcast for you. I want to do a podcast for me. And I believe that when we do this work for God and we do this work out of our own authenticity. That bring joy out automatically.
For example, no one wants to hear a preacher get up and preach a sermon series or preach a message and not have heart in it, like it's the heart that really brings change in our lives. And I think it's so easy for us to get stuck in the mental place and stuck in that, but that's like the stuck in fear, right?
Work From a Place of Love, not Fear
We don't want to be in that place of fear. It's when we step out of heart, out of love, that we enjoy our work, and we actually have a lot of fun when we're doing. So, we want to follow the things that we're excited about. We want to follow our curiosity, and that's where we have healing. So, I'm guessing there's things that we are thinking about doing, we're scared of doing, not really sure what the reaction's going to be, but boy, once you step out and start doing it, it becomes something great.
So, I was so scared to do my first podcast episode. Of facing all those fears that I was having. And last week I did a podcast interview where I was being interviewed on the Shrink Think podcast and, and the guys are giving me an opportunity to share about the work I'm doing. And I was thinking, “Oh, I really don't want to say this, but I need to say things to make 'em happen, Right?”
At the very end of the show, I said, “Oh, and by the way, you need to listen to the Wise Practice podcast.” Haha. A podcast that doesn't exist ye! We got done. Oh, I think actually it was on the interview and then I said, “but it hasn't been made yet, but I guess I'll make it today.” Which is just kind of funny, right?
You're just going to make a podcast? Yeah. That's actually exactly what I did, and I forced myself to sit down and do it. And it has been so good. It was not perfect. Please don't wait on perfection. Cuz if you wait on perfection, you're never going to go anywhere that you want to go in your life.
I can tell you from experience, I used to wait on perfection and it's stunk. So, I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm just going to step into the things that I want to do and the things that I think are fun. So, yes, I just said I'm going to record an episode, and then I did. And I feel like my mind has come more alive.
Make One Small Step
I'm excited to be back with y'all and to be talking about the real stuff in our hearts, the stuff that God's doing within me, the things that God's doing within you. When we step out of who we are, when we step out of our fears, even if it's a small step, sometimes that one step gives you the motivation for the next one. It gives you the passion, it gives you the ideas to be able to take the next step. I can think about people when they start a group practice.
Boy, talk about being scared. Starting a group practice is really scary! Whew ! Fears like “What if it's not successful?” and “What if I hire the wrong person and could someone destroy my practice?” (Which by the way, it's very hard for one new hire to destroy your practice, but there's all these questions and fears that come up).
But I see people as they start hiring, they start getting lighter and they start getting excited and all their ideas start coming out and wow. I mean, big things happen as they move into even marriage, right? Marriage is a scary thing, but as we step into it and we start that relationship, we fall more in love with our spouse.
There are so many examples that I could give of story after story of moving into it, like, Oh, pregnancy. I mean, pregnancy is so scary and. I was excited to have babies, but at the same time, all my insecurities as a mother came up. But as I stepped into it and became a mother, I found my own motherly healing.
Being able to understand God's love for our child in a different kind of way. So, it brought me that kind of feeling for myself. As we move forward in this podcast, I expect to grow myself. I am doing this show for me because I need healing in my own life. Personally. I need to grow in my ability as a consultant, my ability as a practice owner, and I hope that you will stay with me for this journey because God will bring you healing as you listen, just in the same way that I find tons of healing when I listen to other people's shows, and I look forward to this journey that we're going to have.
Connect with Whitney
If you have found this helpful in your walk, please reach out to me. I would love to hear from you and connect with you. I can tell you that podcasting can be a lonely world. But when I hear from people that say, Oh my gosh, I loved your show and this meant a lot to me, y'all, that like brightens my heart, like, no, no other.
So please email me or find me on social media. My email is Whitney@whitneyowens.com or find me on social media. Whitney Owens Consulting on Instagram. Would love to connect with you and hear about the things that God is doing in your life and in your business. Thanks for hanging out with me on the show.
