The Imposter's Mirror: Untangling your Self-Worth from your Practice
Dear Colleagues,
Last week we explored the silent chatter of imposter syndrome, a persistent and nagging doubt that many of us face. Building on that, I wanted to delve into a deeper, often more insidious, challenge: the unhealthy intertwining of our professional performance with our personal self-worth.
For many of us, especially in demanding fields like physical rehabilitation, our identity can become inextricably linked to our work. We're not just people who do physical rehab; we are the Physical Rehab Therapist. While this dedication can fuel incredible passion and drive, it creates a fragile foundation for our well-being.
The Unhealthy Equation: Performance = Worth
In the demanding world of physical rehabilitation, the lines blur quickly:
The Pursuit of Excellence: From rigorous academic programs to demanding clinical placements, we are conditioned to constantly strive for perfection. Our grades, our technique, our patient outcomes – these become direct metrics of our value.
The "Calling" Mentality: For many, this isn't just a job; it's a calling. This noble intention can inadvertently lead us to believe that our entire self-worth is wrapped up in how effectively we "answer" that call. If a patient isn't improving as expected, or a treatment plan falters, it can feel like a personal failing, not just a professional challenge. I am alright sharing that I still struggle with this from time to time.
Intense Training Demands: As I experienced in my own journey, the very nature of getting through programs like Athletic Therapy often feels like it demands your entire being. You're encouraged to "live and breathe" the profession, dedicating immense hours and personal sacrifice. This can hardwire a belief that to be "successful," you must essentially sell your soul to the profession. This extreme dedication, while seemingly necessary for success in the field, is profoundly unhealthy in the long run.
The Cost of a Blended Identity
I’m going to use myself as an example here - When "Nikki, the Athletic Therapist" completely overshadows "Nikki, the person," the consequences can be severe:
Fragile Self-Esteem: Your self-worth becomes a roller coaster, directly mirroring your patient outcomes. If a patient doesn't achieve their goals, your self-esteem can take a direct hit.
Burnout Acceleration: The pressure to constantly "perform" for your worth is exhausting. Every setback can become a personal crisis, every long day chips away at a personal reserve that's already tied to professional output. This relentless pursuit is a direct pipeline to burnout.
Loss of Personal Life: If your identity is solely your profession, like mine was for a very long time, what's left outside of it? Hobbies fade, relationships outside the work sphere suffer, and personal interests dwindle, leaving you with little to recharge or define you beyond the clinic.
Fear of Failure: Mistakes are inevitable in any profession, especially one as complex as ours. When performance equals worth, even minor errors can become existential threats, leading to crippling anxiety and a reluctance to take risks or try new things. This also seems to fuel an intense need for more education because you feel like your current tools are never good enough.
Difficulty with Boundaries: Saying "no" to extra work, setting reasonable caseloads, or taking necessary time off feels like a betrayal of your identity and therefore your worth.
Untangling: Reclaiming Your Self-Worth
The journey to untangle your self-worth from your professional performance is challenging, but vital for sustainable well-being and a fulfilling life.
Define Yourself Beyond the Clinic / Field: Actively cultivate interests, hobbies, and relationships completely unrelated to your profession. Remember, you are a complex individual with many facets . . . pun not intended but it works!!
Who are you when you're not working?Practice Functional Separation: Consciously create boundaries. When you leave the clinic, leave the clinic. Implement rituals to transition from "therapist mode" to "personal mode." This might include working out at a different gym, leaving your phone on silent, and keeping your charting time to when you’re physically in the clinic.
Acknowledge External Factors: Patient outcomes are multifactorial. Remind yourself that you provide expertise and guidance, but you do not control every variable in a person's healing journey (their compliance, genetics, lifestyle, beliefs, stress, nutrition, sleep, etc.).
Embrace Process over Perfection: Your goal is to be an effective therapist most of the time, not a perfect one all of the time. Focus on the process, your effort, and your continuous learning. Not every session or even every client will be a breakthrough, and that's okay.
Seek Your Own Support: Just as we recommend it to our clients, engaging in your own therapy or consistent, insightful supervision can help you explore where these core beliefs about worth originated and how to challenge them.
Recognize You’re "Human" First: Understand that your inherent value as a human being is not, and never can be, tied to your professional achievements or failures. You have intrinsic value as a living human being that transcends your performance.
Changing my mindset from "Nikki, the Athletic Therapist" to "Nikki, someone who does Athletic Therapy" was a crucial turning point in my personal journey. It allowed me to find a healthier, more sustainable way to engage with my passion without sacrificing my entire self.
I believe it's time we recognize that selling our soul to the profession, while common in our demanding training, is not sustainable or healthy in the long term. Your well-being is paramount, and cultivating a robust sense of self-worth that exists independently of your performance is the most profound step you can take toward a fulfilling career and a balanced life.
What strategies have helped you define yourself beyond your profession? Share your insights in the comments below!
Author:
Nikki Smith
Owner