Some lady tried to fight me.
Remembering why I never post online.
Ok, that got your attention. It really wasn’t that dramatic. I belong to several therapist groups online and a newer therapist posted that she was interested in earning more money and posed a question about if it was possible to see (insert high number) of clients per week. Most of the seasoned therapists posted all the risks of doing so including stress, burnout, etc. I NEVER post my opinions in public forums, reasons to be discussed later. This time I did. I believe my response was worded exactly as this, “Anything is possible, it’s just a matter of what you are willing to sacrifice.” Many people “like” this answer. A few hours later I get a reply from a person which was about 3 paragraphs long telling me what an awful person I am and what a horrendous therapist I must be. Her reasoning was everyone has different abilities and not everything is possible for everyone. Whoa. I replied (bad mistake). I stated that it was not meant to be anything negative, I was just implying that we all have different values and make sacrifices for things that are important or meaningful for us and this woman posting could schedule as many clients as she wanted if it were important to her and knew she might have to make some trade offs to do so. I wished her a happy day and moved on. This was met with another 4 paragraph response about my evilness as a human and therapist. Mind you, I’ve obviously never met this woman in my life. I refused to engage. Delete. Block. This is why I never post or reply in public settings.
I believe in healthy discussion and differences of opinion. I believe in respecting beliefs that are different than my own. I didn’t delete and block because I was afraid to discuss this. I deleted because I don’t engage in hate, drama, or negativity and unwarranted attacks, especially with complete strangers online. I also didn’t delete because I felt I was wrong. In fact, I believe my response reflects my values and opinions. As a human, as a parent AND as a therapist, my goal is always to empower people to know that anything is within their reach, and yes, sometimes that requires sacrifice and yes, it almost always requires a lot of effort and hard work, no matter what your abilities or life circumstances. I am not ignorant to the fact that different people have different needs and struggles, some of which I could never even begin to relate to. However, I don’t ever want to be a person who discourages someone from pursuing their dreams or passions and yes, I do believe anything is possible.
Fast forward a few days and I decide to start watching The Last Dance, the story of Michael Jordan and the Bulls, a player and team that I grew up watching. What stood out the most during this series was the focus on hard work. Michael didn’t make his high school basketball but went on to be the greatest player of all time. Even Dennis Rodman fighting his own internal demons was described as giving 110% every time he stepped onto the court regardless of what was going on in his personal life and even if they couldn’t find him in the off season. All these players had stories of life adversities and all of them had to work hard to achieve greatness. We could find countless examples of odds being stacked against someone and yet they achieved their own personal success in their own way.
I have no desire to be a professional athlete or to obtain fortune or fame, nor do most people. However, for us regular people I do believe we can achieve our own greatness whatever that may be. I do believe anything is possible. I do believe that greatness or even accomplishing goals in general, requires hard work, dedication, and yes, often sacrifice whether it be time, sleep, money or any of the other things that sometimes we have to give up in pursuit of things we truly desire. I’ve also learned that no matter how positive, empowering and encouraging you are in this world, there will always be people who try to bring you down, attack you, or question your motives. Don’t let them. You’ve got this. Go chase your dreams. Anything is possible.