Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/1263242
find your dream career! ascpskincare.com/career-toolkits 81 Performing rituals is a way to help us reignite our passion for our work, and will also prepare, heal, and sustain us moving forward. my favorite tools called reflective listening, where the listener is focused on hearing and understanding, and then paraphrasing or parroting back the shared information (or feelings) using some of the exact words or phrases used by the speaker. Then, the speaker is asked to affirm that the listener understood and also to clarify or add additional information. Sometimes gossip or smack talk is a form of bonding, as is our sharing of stressful and personal life issues. When we engage with a client on this level, though, we are actually self-sabotaging and shifting the energy needed for a successful therapeutic outcome. Right now, we are all emotional and dealing with our personal and professional struggles. When your clients come back, what can they expect from you? During communication, there is no room for judgment, opinion, or advice from you as the listener. Instead, listen with curiosity, compassion, and generosity. Most of us are not trained licensed psychologists, but our scope of service can include listening. Remember, though, that a referral to a professional therapist may, in some cases, serve your client better. RITUAL 4: ALWAYS BE YOU Limit the excessive reliance on other people for approval and your sense of identity. The inner critic has a habit of saying we are not enough, and we often compare ourselves to others. Doing so makes us feel unimportant, which can lead to unhappiness and even failure. And, instead of privately exploring the feelings and reactions we have to issues, doing our own work, and staying in our lane, we sometimes practice the unconscious redirection of feelings and focus on trying to fix others. If we want to function healthfully in a therapeutic setting—and are disciplined to do the personal inner work of healing and discovery— we will attract clients and create an esthetics practice that will truly sustain us. I used to tell my employees, "I pay you for your expertise, training, and hard work, but what you give beyond that is your choice—a gift, one that can't be bought." If you are feeling emotional, stuck, and inadequate, I would say that is normal. We have very little control right now. Know this: You need to be you. Everybody else is taken. And being you is the primary task of leading a good life— which includes doing the work you love.