Striving 101

The day I got schooled on what I thought I was supposed to be.

Prefer to listen? Click play on the audio track above to hear SVB read you these words.

And don’t forget your Reflection Points at the end.

“The constant focus on doing prevents you from actually being.”

WHILE IT’S STARTING to lose its stigma, the topic of therapy – as in the mental health variety – can still feel a bit off limits in terms of discussion.

Which is why I’ll rip off the band aid right now and say that therapy is what this post is about.

Or, rather, specifically something critical I learned from my experience with it.

Why I started speaking to someone about all the chatter inside my head is irrelevant, but suffice it to say I was curious about why I was feeling the way I was and repeating patterns that my rational brain knew did not serve me.

What I didn’t expect is that I would get an answer so quickly.

Nor that it would shatter the only foundation I knew how to stand on.

It came early on in my relationship with my therapist when I was describing my life’s story to this person who had previously been a stranger. I bounced from one milestone to the next, one box checked to another, chronologically laying out my journey until finally taking a pause when I arrived at current day.

After allowing me to catch my breath, my therapist looked at me with a sense of recognition.

“You’re a striver,” she said.

I had never heard the term before. But as soon as the word left her lips, it resonated and felt like home.

I began to smile. Nod my head.

“Yes,” I said. “Yes, I am.”

I was proud.

Her response was swift and calculated:

“That’s not a good thing.”