3 Ways to Build a Healthy Mindset as a Speech-Language Therapist
As speech-language pathologists, we are lucky to work in a professional field that offers a unique blend of opportunities (professional growth, flexibility, and personal satisfaction, to name a few) and enables us to impact lives every day positively.
To take good care of others, It’s important to take care of the most important person first - ourselves. And to do that, we first need to defend ourselves from limiting beliefs, stress, and our minds' tendency to think negatively (yes, our mind tends not only to register negative stimuli but to dwell upon them).
And that is why it is of utmost importance to govern your mind to serve you at your best. Just as the body, if not trained, tends to decay, our minds need continuous attention.
Henry Ford said: "Whether you think you can or you cannot, either way, you are right." Indeed, we are what we think about. And our thoughts influence our behaviors and control our actions. That is how powerful our brain is.
As mindset is such an extraordinary tool, we decided to devote this blog post to the importance your mindset plays in your life and show you three simple yet surprisingly effective techniques that will help you build an empowered SLP mindset.
Your mindset
Your mindset is a collection of beliefs that shape your thoughts, and your thoughts influence how you think and feel about people, situations, and circumstances. They also impact how you react to and feel about what happens and how you make sense of the world.
Have you noticed that given the same situation, people react in different ways? This is because of the different thought patterns we all have.
You can rewire your brain.
Our brain has the ability to grow and change by developing new connections (also known as neuroplasticity). This means that when you repeat a certain behavior, thought, or emotion over and over again, you form new neuro connections in your brain. The more you repeat a certain behavior, the easier it becomes to reproduce it. This is how we form habits and create emotional triggers.
It's why you cannot change anything on the outside until you change your thought patterns. On a conscious level, you may want to change something in your life, but if on a subconscious level you believe that you are ok where you are, and it's better to stay in your comfort zone, then the change becomes more difficult to create.
And that is why it is important to train our mindset and rewire the neuro connections that no longer serve us. Training our mindset is like training any other muscle in our bodies - the more you train, the stronger it gets. Here are three effective techniques that can help you train your brain.
1) Mighty mindfulness. Mindfulness is being present and fully aware of the current situation. You can practice being mindful during routine activities like brushing your teeth, taking a shower, cleaning your house, waiting in the supermarket line, etc.
Be present and engage your five senses while doing those activities. Notice the thoughts that wander in your head, the noises, the people, and the smells around you. Don't judge; just be present and notice. The beauty of this powerful technique is that you can practice mindfulness whenever, wherever.
When you start practicing mindfulness and see all of the benefits this technique has for yourself, you can start teaching it to your students (when appropriate), and then you both can start off your session with how to be mindful. This is a win-win for both of you and a great way to show your students how deeply you care about them.
2 ) Practice self-compassion. Self-care and self-compassion towards ourselves are imperative for developing a healthy mindset that will empower us to help others.
Self-care can take many forms, like eating right, reading a book, or taking a walk. Only you know what self-care practice serves your soul best. On the other hand, self-compassion is treating yourself with grace, the way you would treat your best friend.
You wouldn't tell your best friend that it's stupid when he/she makes a mistake, right? Then why do we do this to ourselves? We are unique, caring, and loving individuals, so let’s always treat ourselves this way. Although we sometimes make mistakes, we can see them as an opportunity to learn and grow (and not blame ourselves).
Remember what the poet Maya Angelou said: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."
A great technique to balance out the negative thoughts is to take a look at your win jar. Remember, your win jar consists of all successes that happened for one of your kids/clients/families. When you are feeling down or feel that your negative thoughts overwhelm you, open your win jar and take a look at your successes and how much positive impact you are making. You are worthy; never ever forget that.
3) Practicing mantras. A mantra is any collection of words designed to promote focus, quiet anxiety, limit negative self-talk, boost happiness, and increase self-confidence.
According to recent research, "thinking of a word or phrase that affirms our values—and repeating it over and over— produces powerful physiological changes. It can lower our cortisol levels, enhance endurance and reduce the perception of effort during physical exertion..."
Mantras are a very powerful tool for keeping our mindset calm and centered. To promote your well-being and in order to make self-care a top priority for you, our team has created a freebie, the 5 steps to create a self-care and compassion routine for speech therapists. If you haven't already, you can download your freebie here.
There, you will find some of our favorite mantras with visuals picked out just for you. Choose the mantras that resonate with you most and remind you of your purpose. Print them out and post them in a prominent place, like your workspace, where you can regularly take a look and remind yourself to just pause for a minute and be present. You can also take a minute at the start of each week to select a new mantra, print it out, and post it at your workplace - this way, mantras become part of your mindfulness and self-compassion journey.
What's next:
Your mindset is the most powerful tool you have at your disposal. Don't let it hold you back by placing limiting beliefs on who you are and what you can do. Break the negative chain and embrace life's challenges and setbacks as a source of growth by being mindful, treating yourself with grace, and practicing mantras daily. Remember, you are worth it and can work on your mindset every day. And a great way to do that is to add some of these practices into your schedule so that you are seeing them regularly and you are reminded to take care of yourself. The more mindful you become, the more empowered your mindset will be.
Our team is dedicated to making positive changes in our speech-language pathologists' lives. We want you to thrive, both personally and professionally, so we encourage you to download your freebie HERE and take really good care of yourself.
-------
Resources:
Bernstein, E. (2017, May 08). One habit to make you happier today. Retrieved February 17, 2021, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/one-habit-to-make-you-happier-today-1494259324